- Title: Pussy Riot member speaks out about Trump victory
- Date: 10th November 2016
- Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 9, 2016) (REUTERS) SOUNDBITE) (English) MUSICIAN AND PROTESTOR, NADYA TOLOKONNIKOVA, SAYING: "I really believe that people will do their best to oppose the new patriarchal order that is about to happen all around the world and so if you can draw, just draw, if you can make music, make music against the patriarchy. I know a lot of people right now are annoyed and are disappointed and they can give up. It's important not to do that. If we will be united, we can overcome it. It's not the end of the story."
- Embargoed: 25th November 2016 01:09
- Keywords: Pussy Riot Donald Trump US Elections Nadya Tolokonnikova
- Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES; UNIDENTIFIED FILMING LOCATIONS
- City: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES; UNIDENTIFIED FILMING LOCATIONS
- Country: USA
- Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA00657V07D3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS NOTE: CONTAINS PROFANITY THROUGHOUT
Two weeks before the results of the US elections, Nadya Tolokonnikova of Pussy Riot posted a video showing now president-elect Donald Trump winning the election and what life would be like under his administration.
However, the Russian activist and musician says her intention was not merely to be prophetic. "I didn't believe until the last point that he would actually win and the goal of the music video was to warn people and share my experience with living with Vladimir Putin with Americans who about to vote for Trump."
Tolokonnikova continues to be an outspoken critic of the Russian president and was one of the two Pussy Riot members who was sent to prison in Russia following a performance at a cathedral in Moscow. She was also one of the members of the group who was attacked by Cossacks in Sochi during an appearance at the Winter Olympics in 2014.
Currently living in Los Angeles, she's turned her attention to advocating for human rights in the United States. "The important part about freedoms is that they can easily be taken away from you and you shouldn't be cocky about your freedoms," she told Reuters. "I think a lot of American people think they have freedoms and that they will never lose them and they would say that our country is free and that other countries are not."
Tolokonnikova is seen in the music video for "Make America Great Again" being branded by guards with Nazi-esque bands on their arms and hair similar to Trump's. In one scene she is seen being objectified and judged which ends with her being branded a "Fat Pig" - making reference to Trump's disparaging remarks about former Miss Universe Alicia Machado.
Although the video appears to be a damning attack on the president-elect, she admits there are positive things that have come from Donald Trump's election campaign.
"When this tape was leaked about grabbing women by their pussies, a lot of people who didn't realize how misogynistic Trump is they realized and we had a really big wave of intellectual feminist conversation and I feel like we had a feminist uprisal because of that," she admitted.
The Russian activist has also released a music video entitled 'Straight Outta Vagina' about women's rights and has five other projects coming out soon.
"Putin is bad, Putin is really bad," she warned. "You have to look around and understand that something like we have in Russia could happen here in America as well if you do not fight for your rights." - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
