Pussy Riot Asks Congress for More Russian Sanctions

The Russian punk group Pussy Riot sent two band members to Capitol Hill on Tuesday. Pussy Riot members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina had private meetings with lawmakers and later posed for photos with Senator Ben Cardin.

The main purpose of the Pussy Riot visit was to ask the U.S. government to add 16 Russian officials to a human rights violation sanctions list.

Tolokonnikova and Alekhina met with a number of political leaders who were eager to hear what Pussy Riot had to say about human rights in Russia. The meeting included Sens. Ben Cardin, D-Md., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn.

“One of the main slogans of President Putin is ‘stability,’ whereas today we can state that Putin is leading Russia not to stability but to complete instability and chaos,” said Tolokonnikova in Russian through a translator.

Pussy Riot is internationally known for more than their music. The all-female band famously staged politically-charged musical protests in Russia, landing some of their members in jail. In 2012, they staged a protest against Russian president Vladimir Putin in a cathedral and were thrown in jail. The welcome Pussy Riot got in Washington on Tuesday was extremely warm, though.

“It is my pleasure to welcome to the United States Capitol members of the Pussy Riot,” Sen. Cardin said.

The two women asked the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to increase pressure on Russia by adding more names to a list of Russian human rights abusers. The list consists of people who are have sanctions against them by the U.S. Pussy Riot asked the U.S. to add Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev to the list, among others.

Legally, the U.S. can ban travel to America and freeze assets of Russians on the list. There are 18 known names on the list, and others that haven’t been publicized.

“These sanctions allow a huge number of people to talk about the human rights violations as a result,” said Tolokonnikova.

Pussy Riot has proven to be a formidable public relations foe to Russian government. After the women served two years in jail for their cathedral stunt, they continued their efforts to raise awareness about human rights abuses in Russia. At the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, Pussy Riot members were detained, and in a separate incident local officers were photographed beating the women with whips.