Recently freed members of Russian punk band Pussy Riot, Masha Alyokhina and Nadya Tolokonnikova, appeared on The Colbert Report yesterday with a translator to talk with the lampooning host about Putin, hiding contraband, and anti-gay propaganda laws in Russia. The women were composed and quick with Colbert's banter, and the interview is a brilliant volly, ending with Colbert's support of the group. In his signoff, Colbert throws on the signature Pussy Riot mask and calls out Putin on a first name basis: “Vladimir, I don't ask much, and I don't ask often, but you leave those girls alone.”
As Masha Alekhina told The New Yorker, “Our goal in coming to Europe and New York is not to breathe the fresh air and enjoy ourselves. It’s to talk about the things that matter to us, to talk about political prisoners. We have seen the situation inside, and in there it is impossible to protest. So we are doing it now.”
You can watch the two interview segments at the embeds below. Pussy Riot will be appearing at Barclays Center in Brooklyn tomorrow for the Amnesty International Bringing Human Rights Home concert.
