Russian feminist performance arts collective Pussy Riot will be the subject of a new scripted TV series about its co-founder Nadya Tolokonnikova. The activist is an outspoken critic of Putin and, earlier this year, was placed on Russia's most wanted list for creating “obscene” NFTs.
The series will be developed by STX Entertainment from Tolokonnikova's upcoming memoir. Her life was certainly eventful: born in the Siberian Arctic city of Norilsk, she grew up in performance art after moving to Moscow in 2007 and co-founded Pussy Riot in 2011. The group began organizing unauthorized live music performances political punk and wearing colorful balaclavas.
In 2012, Tolokonnikova and two other members of Pussy Riot were arrested during a performance of “Punk Prayer” at Christ Cathedral. Salvador, in Moscow. She was convicted of “vandalism” and sentenced to two years in a forced labor camp. Shortly after their release, the group held another protest at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and were attacked with whips by Russian Cossacks.
“I was a 20-year-old broke artist studying philosophy, [Putin] was one of the most powerful, richest and dangerous men on Earth,” Tolokonnikova said, according to “Deadline.” “In 2011, I went against him, damn the consequences. After years of imprisonment, harassment, attacks, trauma, I am ready to share this story.”
“Today I am on Russia’s most wanted list, labeled as a foreign agent, and I was recently arrested in absentia by the Russian court,” he added. “My relatives and friends were poisoned, my government wants me dead, but I don't regret anything. If the story of Pussy Riot can inspire a new generation of rebels, it was not in vain.”
Earlier this year, Tolokonnikova presented the exhibition “Putin's Ashes” at the Jeffrey Deitch gallery in Los Angeles. Russia appeared to retaliate, placing her on its most wanted list for “Virgin Mary, Please Become a Feminist,” an NFT sold on SuperRare in 2021.
Tolokonnikova has been the subject of several documentaries, including “Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer” and “Pussy versus Putin” (both 2013).
Source: Artnet News