We invite you to a special evening with Maria (Masha) Alyokhina—political activist, performance artist, author, and member of the feminist art collective Pussy Riot.
Maria Alyokhina gained worldwide recognition in 2012 when she, together with fellow activists Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina Samutsevich, staged a protest performance in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior against Vladimir Putin and the close ties between church and state. Their “punk prayer” turned Pussy Riot into an international symbol of political resistance—and led to the activists’ arrest and imprisonment. After her release, Alyokhina campaigned for prisoners’ rights and continued her political activism despite increasing repression in Russia. Following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, she fled Russia in 2022 to avoid another prison sentence.
At the heart of the evening is a reading from her new book, Political Girl, in which Alyokhina recounts her political awakening, her resistance to Russia’s authoritarian regime, and her life in exile. The reading will be accompanied by a live improvised sound composition by Pussy Riot member Eric J. Breitenbach.
Political Girl is a powerful portrait of one of the most significant Russian dissidents of our time—a story about art as resistance, personal freedom, and the price of political engagement.
Following the reading, there will be a conversation with Maria Alyokhina, followed by a Q&A session with the audience.
