Maria Alyokhana, leader Pussy RiotShe escaped from Russia by posing as a food courier to avoid the Moscow police. New York times reports.
why does it matter: Alyokhina was to spend 21 days in a penal colony, but left the country before she was taken into custody by the Moscow police.
What happened: The The Pussy Riot leader threw a disguise at the food courier to avoid Moscow police who were stuck outside her friend’s apartment where she was staying, The New York Times reports.
- She left her cell phone to fool the police and avoid any tracking.
- A friend then drove Alyokhina to the Russian border with Belarus and traveled to Lithuania within a week.
The Big Picture: Pussy Riot, founded in 2011 in Russia, is known for organizing protests in the country to promote civil liberties.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin The band is often criticized.
- Pussy Riot . members They have faced arrests over the years. Alyokina was sentenced to two years in prison in 2012 after the band organized a protest against Putin.
- Yukine has recently criticized Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
what are they saying: “I don’t think Russia has the right to exist anymore,” Aliukhina told The Times.
- Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, she said, “there were questions about how it would unite, what values it would unite in, and where it would go. But now I don’t think that’s a question anymore.”