Yesterday (July 15), four Pussy Riot members rushed onto the field wearing police uniforms during the 2018 World Cup final in Moscow. Three of the protestors, Veronica “Nika” Nikulshina, Olga Kurachyova, and Pyotr Verzilov, have been sentenced to “15 days of administrative arrest,” according to Pussy Riot. The group writes that Nikulshina will spend those 15 days “in a special prison.” She and Verzilov have also been banned from attending sporting events, the group writes. Verzilov, they say, has been banned for three years.
The other protestor, Olga Pakhtusova, is awaiting sentencing, the group’s representative has told Pitchfork. They have been charged with “violating the rules for spectators at sporting events and of wearing police uniforms illegally,” the BBC reports. They face maximum fines of 10,000 rubles ($161) and 1,500 rubles for the respective charges.
Following the on-field disruption, Pussy Riot claimed responsibility in a statement on social media. After saying it was a protest of Russia’s political and prison systems, they shared a list of demands to the Russian government: free political prisoners, end “illegal arrests at protests,” and “allow political competition in the country.”
