On October 1, members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot will appeal their sentence of two years in prison on charges of “hooliganism.” Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich were arrested in February, after a political performance at Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow that called for the Virgin Mary to “rid us of Putin!” Tolokonnikova’s husband Pyotr Verzilov traveled to the U.S. the week before the trial to accept the LennonOno Grant for Peace Award on the women’s behalf and continue rallying support for their release. Versilov and his 4-year-old daughter Gara, who wore a t-shirt emblazoned “All Rights for All People”, spoke with The Nation about the international response to Pussy Riot’s imprisonment, and what it says about the anti-Putin movement in Russia.
