A Moscow court has designated the Russian feminist punk collective Pussy Riot an extremist organisation, effectively banning its activities inside Russia, according to a ruling announced on Monday.
The decision was made at the request of Russia's General Prosecutor's Office and follows a September court ruling that sentenced five members of the group to prison terms of up to 13 years in absentia for spreading what authorities described as false information about the Russian army. The group's members, many of whom live outside Russia, rejected the charges as politically motivated.
An act aimed at President Vladimir Putin
Pussy Riot rose to international prominence in 2012 after several members were jailed for performing a protest song inside Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral, an act aimed at President Vladimir Putin. The case drew global attention and turned the group into a symbol of artistic resistance and opposition to the Kremlin.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Pussy Riot has openly opposed the war, staging protests abroad and releasing statements critical of the Russian government. Russian authorities have since labelled the group's members as "foreign agents" and sought the arrest of founder Nadya Tolokonnikova, who is currently based in the United States.
Responding to the extremist designation last month, Tolokonnikova dismissed the decision, writing on social media: "If telling the truth is extremism, then we are happy to be extremists." The ruling further tightens Russia's sweeping crackdown on dissent, under which critics of the war in Ukraine, opposition activists and independent artists have faced prosecution, exile or imprisonment.