Authorities have issued an arrest warrant in the wake of the artist’s provocative performance piece, Putin’s Ashes
Back in January, Pussy Riot opened its debut solo show at a Los Angeles gallery. You might remember the centrepiece: a short film that showed 12 women torching a ten-foot portrait of Vladimir Putin out in the desert, titled Putin’s Ashes. Now, Nadya Tolokonnikova, a founding member of the art and activist collective, is facing an arrest warrant – and a place on Russia’s list of most wanted criminals – in connection to the artwork.
On February 17, the Russian media organisation RBC reported that an investigation was launched against Tolokonnikova by Russian authorities, under part one of article 148 of the Criminal Code (“violation of the right to freedom of conscience and religion”). The anti-defamation law is often referred to as the “Pussy Riot law” since it was brought into effect in 2012, in connection with the group’s infamous Punk Prayer.
According to authorities, Tolokonnikova’s social media posts surrounding Putin’s Ashes contained images “expressing clear disrespect for society” and were shared “in order to insult the religious feelings of believers”. The maximum punishment is up to a year behind bars.
“I do not fear Putin,” Tolokonnikova told Dazed at the time. “I have been imprisoned for years, my family and friends threatened, arrested, poisoned, and murdered, but I will not stop speaking the truth – that this man, and everyone who supports him and this unlawful war in Ukraine must be actively resisted.”
“I am an artist,” she added. “I think we should all use whatever skills we have to fight Putin and support Ukraine. If I had combat experience, it would be a different story; I use art to wage war.” Tolokonnikova also commended artists and allies who are not afraid to support her art and oppose Putin’s regime, including the gallerist Jeffrey Deitch and the artist Shepard Fairey, saying: “I continue to look for allies: museums and institutions who are not afraid and who will stand with us to resist this fascist genocidal man.”
As news of the investigation broke, Pussy Riot member Rita Flores was also reportedly detained by Russian authorities (and not for the first time) in Moscow. According to an Instagram post shared by Tolokonnikova, Flores’ house was searched, and her phone and laptop were confiscated as evidence. Sharing a fundraiser link, she added: “Together we can buy Rita a new phone [and] computer. The least we can do.”
Now, Russia’s crackdown has become even more severe, with records from the database of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (uncovered by Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina’s MediaZona) showing that Tolokonnikova has been added to the federal wanted list, meaning that there is a warrant out for her arrest. Still, the artist is resolute in her opposition to the authoritarian government. “Any truly political artist risks their personal safety for the sake of their art… It is not a new concept for me,” she says. “They threaten us but we cannot show fear. I’m not a soldier, I’m an artist, art is my weapon. Glad to see they are scared.”
Tolokonnikova has been “geo-anonymous” for some time, since being listed as a “foreign agent” by the Russian government in 2021. In 2012, she was arrested alongside two other Pussy Riot members, and served a year and ten months in Russian prison. Other members of the collective fled Russia in 2021 due to continuous arrests, which were largely linked to protests against police brutality and in support of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Revisit Dazed’s interview with Nadya Tolokonnikova, about the collision of magic and activism in Putin’s Ashes, here, and watch the video below.