One year on since Trump’s election and on the anniversary of the Russian Revolution, the punk activists rail against a fascist world in their latest music video
It’s been one year since Trump was elected as the 45th president of the United States. Across the last 12 months, he’s decimated healthcare subsidies for the masses, attacked women’s reproductive rights, pursued the Muslim travel ban and has us teetering on the edge of nuclear war.
Following the release of Maria Alkoyhina’s punk call to arms Riot Days, and Nadya Tolokonnikova’s immersive theatre project chronicling their activist journey, the group has dropped a new, scathing music video for “Police State”. Today also marks the centenary of the Russian Revolution, a major day for the collective that has railed against Putin’s fascist rule, and spent time in prison for their resistance.
“Pro-authoritarian trends and autocratic, conservative, right-wing leaders are spreading around the world like a sexually transmitted disease. What can we do?” Tolokonnikova asserts to Dazed. Resisting and challenging is still as important as ever, whether that’s standing up for domestic violence victims in Russia or Trump’s endless crusade against women and LGBT people.
The video features actor and director Chloë Sevigny as a law-enforcement officer, brandishing a baton for riot control. The group appear in their trademark balaclavas, as the video illustrates the damning state of affairs under authoritarianism in Russia and the U.S. The grace and poise of the visual’s ballet dancers juxtaposes starkly with the harshness of the police.
Tolokonnikova states that right now, we need to “act together”. “Be articulate, focused and persuasive, we can shift mountains,” she says. “Look back: people did it before. Soviet dissidents were fighting against one of the most oppressive governments on the planet and shared their own DIY magazines (samizdat) via secret networks. Labour union leaders and civil rights activists were dying for their beliefs in the U.S. And it actually did make our world a better place.”
She recalls a quote from Bernie Sanders from a convention in Philadelphia: “Think about 120 years ago. There were children working in factories, losing their fingers. People fought back. They fought to create unions. Think about the women’s movement. Think about the civil-rights movement. You’ve got to jump in and start fighting.”
“We’d be able to achieve fantastic results if we were not trapped by the idea that nothing can be changed” – Nadya Tolokonnikova
Tolokonnikova recalls the deep shock that rippled across the world when Trump’s election win was announced, and how the “social contract” society has with those they choose to lead blew up on November 8. “It’s that paradigm that says that you can live comfortably without getting your hands dirty with politics,” she adds.
“But we're more than atoms, separated and frightened by TV and mutual distrust, hidden in the cells of our houses behind screens, venting anger and resentment at ourselves and others,” she continues, citing that our greatest enemy is apathy, a feeling that makes us complicit in the evils across modern society. “We’d be able to achieve fantastic results if we were not trapped by the idea that nothing can be changed.”
“What we’re lacking is confidence that institutions can actually work better, and that we can make them work better. People don’t believe in the enormous power that they have but for some reason don’t use,” she adds.
Since they were charged and sentenced for hooliganism after performing their punk anti-Putin prayer in a Moscow cathedral, and then released from their time in a penal colony in 2013, the group have created their own independent media outlet. Mediazona reports on what goes on in Russian courtrooms, police stations, prison and labour camps. Working with Zona Prava lawyers, they also advocate for prisoners’ rights, fighting for medication and better living conditions, and opening criminal cases against cops that abuse them.
It’s actions that are most crucial in times like this: we see that manifest today, as U.S elections bring victories for minorities and LGBT candidates. Two openly transgender candidates won, the Sikh mayor in New Jersey was elected and some of the first African-American mayors in major cities, as Democrats won out across the board.
“It’s crucial to build alternative institutions, establish alternative power structures and networks, especially when your government sucks” – Nadya Tolokonnikova
All eyes continue to bore into Trump’s allegedly sinister ties with Russia, and more news about the disturbing use of Russian bots to smear his opponents and stir social and political tension that helped his win continues to emerge.
In Russia, gay men are still facing persecution, detainment and torture under the Chechen regime. Many have fled the state to the likes of Canada and France, while others remain in hiding or totally missing.
“It's crucial to build alternative institutions, establish alternative power structures and networks, especially when your government sucks,” Tolokonnikova says. “There's a lot that can be done and should be done. Putin will not disappear tomorrow, but we can show our fellow Russians how corrupted, damaging and ineffective his rule is. If everybody who denounced Trump on social media showed up on the streets and refuse to leave until he's gone, he'd be out of office in a week. What it takes is just to abandon our learned helplessness.”
The moving visual for “Police State” is directed by Matt Creed. It follows last year’s “Make American Great Again”, the dark and seething visual that dropped before the 2016 election. In the video, Tolokonnikova trashes Trump’s misogynist, racist, homophobic politics, where she’s branded with some of his disgusting words. The graphic and blood-soaked “Straight Outta Vagina” and “Organs” continued with the collective’s mission to showcase the power of women and body autonomy under a patriarchal society.
“Police State” is out today, a single from Nice Life Winter ’18 playlist out December 8 on Nice Life.
