The Russian embassies in Switzerland are outraged by the holding of Pussy Riot concerts in the country.
“It is very regrettable that, for the sake of political conjuncture, some Swiss cultural institutions decided to provide a venue for “performances” by this group of people known for their outrageous antics beyond all propriety, law and morality,” the embassy website says.
They noted that one of the members of the group “escaped from house arrest in Moscow, and now travels around Europe, where he gives out interviews with sweeping criticism of the Russian leadership,” and the Russian embassy in Switzerland “has no doubt that what is happening on stage during performances are absolutely obscene actions containing insults to Russia.
The concerts of Pussy Riot in Switzerland are part of the group's European tour, organized in support of Ukrainians affected by the war.
In April, Maria Alyokhina, one of the members of the group mentioned in the embassy report, left Russia after she was sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony. On April 26, Alyokhina, convicted in the Sanitary Case, was put on the wanted list. A few days before that, she was replaced with a suspended sentence for a real one.
Alyokhina, who was under house arrest and had to wear an electronic bracelet due to her freedom restriction, escaped by dressing up as a Delivery Club courier. She left her cell phone to avoid being tracked.
As the Pussy Riot member told the publication, a friend took her to the border with Belarus. From there, the activist reached the border with Lithuania with a visa from this country and an internal Russian passport - the security forces took the passport. On her third attempt, and with the help of Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson, she was able to cross the border. According to the NYT, the artist obtained a travel document from one of the European countries for the activist.
The so-called "sanitary case" was launched after a protest in support of Alexei Navalny on January 23. According to investigators, the oppositionist’s associates and activists called on people on social networks to participate in a rally on Pushkinskaya Square in Moscow, thus creating a threat of infection with the coronavirus.
In total, 11 people were involved in the “sanitary case”, among them, in addition to Alyokhina, Oleg Navalny, FBK lawyer Lyubov Sobol, Navalny’s press secretary Kira Yarmysh, and Anastasia Vasilyeva, head of the Alliance of Doctors.
On February 7, the police detained Alyokhina after visiting the inspector of the Federal Penitentiary Service, the next day the court sentenced her to 15 days for displaying Nazi symbols on Instagram. On February 28, the Khamovniki Court of Moscow arrested Alyokhina for 15 days for "disobedience to a police officer." On March 14, Alyokhina received another 15 days under Art. 19.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses.
