Russian criminal charges pressed against Pussy Riot protest art NFT

The government of Russia has quoted a non-fungible token as evidence for criminal charges against Pussy Riot, the Russian feminist protest and performance art group, based on attacking the religious feelings of Russians.

Nadya Tolokonnikova, who is the face and voice of Pussy Riot, is now on the list of wanted people by the Russian Interior Ministry.

Citing Mediazona, the Russian news outlet, the wire service found that hurting religious citizens is a criminal offense in Russia after a 2012 Pussy Riot protest. The Associated Press shared information about reviewing  Tolokonnikova’s entry in the Russian Interior Ministry database.

“Virgin Mary, Please Become a Feminist,” the NFT involved in the case represents the Christian icon framed in the described “anatomical details of the female external genitalia.” The drawing is superimposed on the scan of the arrest papers of Tolokonnikova from the incident of 2012. Pitchfork claimed it has reviewed the translated court documents that include the involved NFT.

“Punk Prayer,” the protest, was staged in a church in Moscow and was caught in a short film. Pussy Riot was accused of “hooliganism,” and Tolokonnikova spent two plus years in a prison camp.

Upon finding the “hooliganism” law to be inefficient, Russia approved a new law that includes the religion element and that Tolokonnikova says is called the “Pussy Riot Law.” The recent case is being pressed under this particular law only.

Tolokonnikova said that political artists risk their own safety for their art, and this is not new. However, an art from a non-fungible token is being utilized like evidence to imprison someone, which is something happening for the first time.

The activist said that the particular move seems to have been provoked by her latest art exhibition, “Putin’s Ashes,” which took place in January at the Jeffrey Deitch gallery in Los Angeles and ended early last month.

Tolokonnikova wrote that they captured the performance of burning an effigy of Putin as well as accumulating and selling his ashes. It got attention to scare him since they rallied allies who were eager to stand up to Putin besides aiding Ukraine.

Despite police detaining her family and friends in the last few weeks, she isn’t scared.

She added:

I will use the tools I have as an artist and crypto enthusiast to keep fighting. I’m not a soldier; I’m an artist. “Art is my weapon.

Tolokonnikova has tapped decentralized technologies to increase her influence. In March 2022, she co-founded UnicornDAO and raised about $4 million to help marginalized artists as well as underrepresented groups in Web3. In June, she protested to support reproductive rights in Texas.

The largest target of her rage as of now is Vladimir Putin and his war on Ukraine. The launch of UkraineDAO sold an NFT of the Ukrainian flag for $6 million plus to support the resistance and relief efforts of Ukraine. More funds were accumulated for a frontline unit in Bakhmut, along with an open edition NFT drop from Shepard Fairey. The funds were sent on the ground to Ukraine to save lives in the initial days of the war.