Pussy Riot is the name of a band and artist group founded in Moscow and known throughout the world. Their controversial performances have made them the enemy of the Russian government and the Orthodox Church. Pussy Riot evolved from a young punk band into a contemporary pop phenomenon that is internationally politically active beyond the areas of music and art. Ridiculed by much of the Russian population and dismissed as insignificant, the band members gained worldwide attention when they received a two-year prison sentence. Within Russia itself, the band only received support from a few equally repressed groups, such as the LGBTQ+ community and people of various marginalised ethnic identities, who also live in fear of the autocratic state’s oppression. Noteworthy is that it was particularly those who were already being persecuted because of their ethnic identity, sexual orientation, or political opinion who had already foreseen ten years ago what would come should they not take action. Today, one can see the consequences of the general blindness: a fascist Russia that turns away from the West, censors free media, persecutes dissenters, wages a war of aggression in Ukraine that violates international law, while all this is legitimised by an Orthodox Church that bestows its blessings on the war.

Using Pussy Riot as an example, I discuss why feminist activism is often not taken seriously enough, what it can achieve, and why it is forced to constantly adapt and use new media for its cause, in defiance of all stereotypes.