Dressed in colourful balaclavas and anti-Putin slogans: that’s the feminist and anti-capitalist band Pussy Riot. The band will soon be at festival Kempenerpop in Waalre. A striking headline act…
Socially provocative themes predominate in Pussy Riot’s repertoire. The performance at Kempener pop festival, which is going to be organised again for the first time since 2019, also tells a story of the band’s protest actions. Precisely the political message, which will be conveyed at Pussy Riot’s performance, is a conscious choice of the event’s organisers. In fact, Pussy Riot’s ideas perfectly match those of the organisation of Kempener Pop, according to festival manager Frank Ploegmakers. “Like the band, we are for inclusiveness and against discrimination: everyone is allowed to be there”.
Conviction
Members of the band became world news in 2012 when they climbed the altar of Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior. There they used a so-called “punk prayer” to criticize religious believers and the then re-election of President Putin. Two members were sentenced by Russian authorities to two years of punishment camp. Just before the 2014 Winter Olympics, held in Sochi, Russia, the duo was granted amnesty. With that, their sentence expired.
Singer Maria Alyokhina, one of the two prisoners, has since been detained many times for criticizing President Putin. The last time she was detained was in February 2022, after which she was placed under police surveillance and not allowed to leave her home. But after the outbreak of war with Ukraine, she managed to escape: she cut her ankle bracelet and pretended to be a meal delivery boy.
Risk
The Municipality of Waalre has a standard consultation with the police for this event, but there are no plans for additional security measures. Even Russia expert Michel Krielaars, also a journalist for NRC, sees no harm in the performance. Warning people against Putin’s regime can do no harm, he believes. “You should know, at some point in the Netherlands everyone is drinking a beer or smoking a joint at a pop concert. And we forget that at an hour and a half flight from Amsterdam an incredibly big war is raging in which dozens of people per day are dying”.
The Kempenerpop festival is free to attend on 22, 23 and 24 September. On the first day, Friday that is, Pussy Riot will perform.
For more information : Kempenerpop – Free open-air festival in Waalre: 22 en 23 September 2023.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Bob
