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Ahead of this weekend’s protests, Pussy Riot also published a video on what to do if you’re detained at a Russian demonstration (since translated into English). “Detention is an unpleasant experience,” says the punk and protest group’s Nadya Tolokonnikova, adding that it’s often illegal in the case of political activists. “If you know how to behave when you’re arrested,” she adds, “it might not end up being such a traumatic experience.”
“I am not a lawyer, nor am I an expert, but I have a lot of first-hand experience.” In 2012, Tolokonnikova was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment alongside Maria Alyokhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich, for “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred”. She was also involved in organising the 2018 World Cup protest that saw the group charged with “the organisation and holding of public events without prior written notice”.