»Political Girl. Pussy Riot - Leben und Schicksal in Putins Russland « mit Maria Aljochina

The Lew Kopelew Forum invites you to the start of the new series "Women against authoritarian forces". Maria Alyokhina, co-founder of Pussy Riot, will present her book "Political Girl. Pussy Riot - Life and Fate in Putin's Russia". The reading will be accompanied by music from Eric J. Breitenbach and moderated by Birgit Virnich.

As a co-founder of Pussy Riot, Maria Alyokhina is one of the most important voices in global protest culture. Since her punk prayer "Virgin Mary, chase Putin away" in Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior, Maria Alyokhina and her comrades-in-arms have been repeatedly subjected to arrests and repression by the Russian regime. Nevertheless, they continued their protest. When the war against Ukraine began and the Russian opposition was silenced, she and her friends continued to protest. Maria flees Russia in 2022 to escape another prison sentence - disguised as a food delivery girl.

Canadian drummer and multimedia artist Eric J. Breitenbach was on tour with Pussy Riot in 2025 and will be touring Europe from April 2026. He will accompany the reading with improvised soundscapes.

"I am writing this so as not to remain silent, not to remain silent about what I have seen in my homeland, in the country that I love - brutal, warm and repulsive at the same time. With endless dictatorships, with priests who have blood on their hands, with courageous women who rebel against the regime. I want to save us - so that we can experience new adventures. So that your freedom and ours can finally come to life."

Maria (Masha) Alyokhina is a Russian conceptual artist and political activist. She is a member of the Pussy Riot art collective. In August 2012, she was sentenced to two years in prison after an anti-Putin performance in Moscow's Cathedral of the Savior and was released in December 2013 following an amnesty granted by Amnesty International. In March 2014, Maria Alyokhina and Nadya Tolokonnikova founded Sona Prava, their NGO for prisoners' rights. Alyokhina is the recipient of the Lennon Ono Grant for Peace and was awarded the Hannah Arendt Prize for Political Thought.

The book was published by Berlin Verlag on 10.11.2025.

The book table is organized by "Der andere Buchladen Südstadt".

Book presentation and reading
English (conversation)
German and English (reading)

Box Office: 10-15 € (pupils, students, members: 2,50€)
Registration: https://forms.gle/BwJWFuUnYzU92eJ9A