NYT reports that the Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson has played a key role to help Maria Alyokhina, a member of Pussy Riot, leave Russia.
Pussy Riot is a feminist protest and performance art group that became famous after staging a show against Vladimir Putin in a Moscow cathedral in 2012. Following the stunt, Maria Alyokhina was sentenced to 2 years in prison and has since then been jailed six times. After it was announced that her recent house arrest will be turned to 21 days in a penal colony, Maria made the decision to try and leave Russia.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Maria Alyokhina told the NYT: “I don’t think Russia has a right to exist anymore. Even before, there were questions about how it is united, by what values it is united, and where it is going. But now I don’t think that is a question anymore.”
To flee Russia, Alyokhina asked a friend to drive her to the border with Belarus. It took her a week and multiple attempts to cross the border into Lithuania as the Russian authorities have confiscated her passport, and she attempted to cross the border only with her domestic ID and a Lithuanian visa.
When this didn’t work, Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson reached out to help. Ragnar managed to convince a European country, the name of which is not disclosed, to issue an EU travel document for Maria. Reportedly, the document was smuggled to Belarus.
After a successful entry to Lithuania, Maria traveled to Iceland. Together with other group members they are visiting Ragnar Kjartansson and rehearsing for their upcoming tour.
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