By Leo Baudhuin, Staff Editor
On September 26, Swarthmore College welcomed the feminist Russian punk rock group, Pussy Riot, to their stage. The event was put together as a part of the school’s “Activism Under Totalitarianism: A Lecture and Performance Series” program. Prior to the concert, the activist, conceptual artist, and one of the band’s founding members, Nadya Tolokonnikova, spoke at Swarthmore’s Science Center. Tolokonnikova, along with the other members of Pussy Riot, has been outspoken against President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin as well as an advocate for the rights of women and LGBTQ people.
Pussy Riot was catapulted into the western consciousness in 2012, when they illegally performed inside a Moscow cathedral, openly criticizing Putin’s power. Tolokonnikova and three other members of the band were sent to a prison labor camp for two years.
During the presentation, Tolokonnikova spoke of her time in jail, describing its duality as an unofficial rite of passage for Russian protesters without dismissing the horrible conditions of her time in prison, an experience she likened to hell. Since her release, she has visited jails around the world, speaking to prisoners one-on-one to gain an accurate reflection of incarceration systems in different countries.
Tolokonnikova recalled her visit to a correctional facility in Berlin as an example of “how it should be done.” The system was run by a prison abolitionist, which leant itself to the humane treatment of those incarcerated in both systematic and day-to-day operations. “It’s always a choice and a conscious choice to treat a prisoner like a human being,” she said.
The artist also spoke to the growing awareness of climate change in Russia, one of two issues—along with feminism—that brought her into activism. The music video for Pussy Riot’s “Чёрные Снежки” (or “Black Snowballs”) features a background of black snow and blood-red water, images that Tolokonnikova described as commonplace growing up in the industrial small town of Norilsk. She pointed out a more recent national trend towards climate advocacy. She further explained,“In the last decade, we’ve been concerned with us being murdered and slaughtered in the streets … and didn’t really have a chance to think about other issues, but it’s changing.” Tolokonnikova framed this advocacy—regarding climate or otherwise—as something that should be a staple of any democratic society. According to her, the problem with the word “activist” is that it “takes responsibility away from people. We somehow split the world into people who have to act because they’re activists and people who don’t have to act because they’re not.”
However, under a totalitarian government, advocacy is never easy. Tolokonnikova emphasized that the first step to pushing back against propaganda is to educate others and make sure accurate information is spread, a task that looks different for different kinds of people. “I don’t really like to preach. I think … just giving information in truth and [providing] an option to look at this truth is the best thing ever,” she stated. “My way is to make art, and my way is to create news stories … to give people a chance to see another kind of story.”
The next presentation for Swarthmore’s Activism Under Totalitarianism series will feature Russian-American author and journalist Masha Gessen. The event will take place on Wednesday, October 23.
Image credit: Pussy Riot
