Vladimir Putin’s chief political foe has been convicted along with his brother in a fraud case widely seen as retribution by the Kremlin, setting off one of Russia’s boldest anti-government demonstrations in years.

Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Kozak defended brutal police treatment of protest group Pussy Riot in Sochi, insisting at a media briefing today that they had provoked a conflict.

Russian punk group Pussy Riot showed a new video, filmed in the centre of Winter Olympics host Sochi, savaging President Putin over the hosting of the Games and the rights climate in Russia.

Cossack militia attacked Russian punk group Pussy Riot with horsewhips as they tried to perform under a sign advertising the Sochi Olympics.

Two members of the punk group Pussy Riot ran out of a police station in their trademark balaclavas after being released following several hours of questioning in Sochi, the host city of the Winter Olympics.

Two members of the Russian punk group Pussy Riot have been released after being detained by police in Sochi, the host city of the Winter Olympics.

Madonna said she will be “honoured” to introduce two members of the campaigning Russian punk band Pussy Riot on stage at an Amnesty International concert next month.

The freed members of the Pussy Riot punk band said yesterday they still wanted Russian president Vladimir Putin out of power and would like ex-tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky to replace him.

Two members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot who spent nearly two years in prison for their irreverent protest in Moscow’s main cathedral say they still want to topple President Vladimir Putin.

Two members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot were reunited today after spending nearly two years in prison for their protest at Moscow’s main cathedral and said they want to set up a human rights organisation.

A member of Russian punk band Pussy Riot has called for foreign countries to boycott February’s Winter Olympics, hours after she was freed from jail.

The two remaining jailed members of Russian punk band Pussy Riot have been released from prison but one says the amnesty bill that gave her freedom was a Kremlin public relations stunt.

Russia’s parliament has passed an amnesty bill that includes crew members of a Greenpeace ship and jailed members of the Pussy Riot punk band.

Russia’s Supreme Court has ordered a review of the case against two jailed members of the Pussy Riot punk band, saying that a lower court did not fully prove their guilt.

If you’re old enough to remember Mikhail Gorbachev, with his distinctive birthmark, you might wonder if he was actually just a dream.

Imprisoned Pussy Riot band member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova has been transferred to a jail in Siberia, Russia’s human rights ombudsman said.

The husband of an imprisoned member of Russian punk rock protest group Pussy Riot says he has not been able to contact her for more than two weeks as she is transferred to a new prison.

Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova is being sent to a new penal colony, the Interfax news agency reported.

A court has rejected an appeal by a member of Russian punk band Pussy Riot against a previous ruling which denied her an early release.

A Russian activist says that a jailed member of the punk group Pussy Riot has ended her 11-day hunger strike after prison authorities met her demands.

One of the jailed Russian punk group Pussy Riot has been taken to hospital on the seventh day of a hunger strike to protest at what she calls a persecution campaign.

A Russian court has denied parole to a member of the Pussy Riot punk group.

Sir Paul McCartney has written to Russian authorities asking them to consider releasing members of jailed punk band Pussy Riot on parole.

A Russian court is to consider whether one of the jailed Pussy Riot band members is eligible for early release.

Moscow’s highest court has rejected an appeal by three members of Pussy Riot against their hooliganism conviction following a protest against Vladimir Putin.

One of two members of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot who are serving two-year sentences for a protest against Russian president Vladimir Putin has been taken to hospital.

One of the jailed members of the punk band Pussy Riot has been moved into a solitary cell following tensions with other inmates, Russian prison officials say.

Russia’s prime minister has said the women in the Pussy Riot punk band serving two-year prison sentences should be set free.

A member of punk band Pussy Riot was freed on appeal yesterday, but a court upheld sentences for two others imposed over a cathedral protest against Vladimir Putin.

A Moscow appeals court has freed one of the jailed Pussy Riot members but upheld the two-year prison sentence for the two others.

A Russian court adjourned an appeal hearing for three members of the Pussy Riot punk band against their conviction for a protest against President Vladimir Putin in a church after one of the trio sacked her lawyers.

A Russian court has postponed the appeal of three members of jailed rock band Pussy Riot until October 10 after one of them fired her lawyers.

Jailed Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova regrets nothing about the band’s anti-government performance in a cathedral that got them convicted of hooliganism and sentenced to two years behind bars.

Two members of Russia’s anti-Kremlin punk band Pussy Riot have fled the country to avoid prosecution for staging a protest against President Vladimir Putin at a church altar, the band said yesterday.

Paul McCartney has helped to free an elephant kept chained in the dark for seven years.

Several dozen protesters staged a demonstration outside the Russian Embassy in Dublin yesterday to express solidarity with the members of female punk band Pussy Riot who were jailed by a Moscow court last week.

The jailing in Moscow of three members of the punk rock group Pussy Riot is a stark reminder of the importance of free speech and the right to dissent within a functioning democracy.

Three members of the punk band Pussy Riot have each been sentenced to two years in prison on hooliganism charges following a trial that has drawn international outrage as an emblem of Russia’s intolerance of dissent.

Paul McCartney has written to on-trial Russian rock act Pussy Riot, telling them to “stay strong” and saying he would do everything in his power to help.

The global campaign to free Pussy Riot is gaining speed: Supporters of the punk provocateur band mobilise this week in at least a dozen cities worldwide to hold simultaneous demonstrations an hour before a Russian court rules on whether its members will be sent to prison.

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.

Members of the Pussy Riot girl band yesterday likened themselves to dissidents from the Soviet era yesterdat, saying their trial for performing an anti-Kremlin stunt in a church was unjust, but that nobody could take away their inner freedom.

Madonna appealed for the release of three members of the punk group Pussy Riot at her Russian concert last night.

The three Russian feminist band members on trial over an anti-Vladimir Putin protest will know their fate next week.

The feminist Russian punk band on trial for protesting against Vladimir Putin have accused their judge of being politically biased and ignoring their side of the story.

Three women from the punk band Pussy Riot could face sentence this week in a trial over their “protest prayer” in a church that has transfixed Russia and opened president Vladimir Putin to new accusations of a crackdown on dissent.

Three women who protested against Vladimir Putin in a “punk prayer” on the altar of Russia’s main cathedral have gone on trial in a case seen as a test of the long-time leader’s treatment of dissent during a new presidential term.

A feminist punk rock group who staged a protest against Vladimir Putin in Moscow’s main cathedral went on trial today accused of hooliganism, facing up to seven years in prison.

A Russian court promised to show unprecedented transparency in the trial of punk band Pussy Riot by broadcasting it online, but the decision was seen as “suspicious” by the defence.

Police have arrested more than 20 demonstrators as a Moscow court considers extending the detention of three female punk rockers arrested after a surprise protest performance against Vladimir Putin.