Punks versus Putin

Pussy Riot hit the headlines when three members were arrested after an anti-Putin protest. Now they face up to three years in jail, a prospect that has shocked and radicalised many Russians. Some of the women speak exclusively to Carole Cadwalladr.

FOR TWO very full, very long days in Moscow, I have talked constantly to people about Pussy Riot. About how, back in February, three young women from a feminist punk-rock band sang a song in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.

How they were arrested, imprisoned, refused bail, and now face up to three years in jail. How the orders for this seem to have come right from the very top of the Russian government.