Fugitive Pussy Riot Drummer Speaks to '60 Minutes'
It's been one year since Pussy Riot performed a "punk prayer" in a Moscow church to ask the Virgin Mary to expel President Vladimir Putin from office, resulting in a show trial that caught the world's attention. And with everyone from Madonna to South Park to the Black Keys weighing-in on the biggest musical cause célèbre of 2012, it's easy to forget the basic reality that two young mothers are now serving two years in a labor camp for a 51-second protest song.
But on Sunday night's 60 Minutes, two non-jailed Pussy Riot members spoke with the highly-rated news program and reminded occasionally jaded Americans that this international incident isn't merely a conversation topic: It's a troubling example of heavy-handed oppression in one of the most powerful nations on earth.
The band's drummer, Kot—who is still hiding from authorities in Moscow and practicing music with non-imprisoned Pussy Riot members—gave an interview to 60 Minutes and helped put a face to the story, albeit a masked one.
"I'm here to say you shouldn't give up," Kot said from behind a pink balaclava. "What happened to us is unacceptable." The undaunted rabble-rouser said she wants her 60 Minutes interview to be seen as an act of protest, although she admitted she was "a little worried" the interview would renew the government's interest in tracking her down.
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