Protesters who stormed the pitch during the 51st minute of the World Cup final between Croatia and France have been identified as members of Russian protest group Pussy Riot, who used the attention of the world (and Vladimir Putin) to make noise about the country’s political and prison systems.
Four members of the group invaded the ground during the game dressed as traditional Russian police officers – representing late poet Dmitriy Prigov‘s image of the ‘heavenly policeman’ – high-fiving players and evading security before being dragged off the field. Shortly after the protest, Pussy Riot posted on their Facebook and Twitter, claiming responsibility for the protesters, and giving context to the display.
NEWS FLASH! Just a few minutes ago four Pussy Riot members performed in the FIFA World Cup final match — ”Policeman enters the Game”https://t.co/3jUi5rC8hh pic.twitter.com/W8Up9TTKMA
— 𝖕𝖚𝖘𝖘𝖞 𝖗𝖎𝖔𝖙💦 (@pussyrrriot) July 15, 2018
The group used the attention to present a list of demands to the Russian government and authorities on their policies including the release of political prisoners, stopping the imprisonment of citizens for their social media presence, and eradicating the arrest and imprisonment of protesters and people participating in rallies in Russia.
The group also posted a video to their YouTube, discussing why the protest happened before showing footage of the protest on the ground.
Other Pussy Riot members have kept updates on the members in custody, confirming that their lawyers haven’t yet had access to the four protesters and that the four will remain in police custody overnight. Footage taken from inside the police station shows two of the four being yelled at by authorities, translated into “You shit all over Russia, yes? It’s a shame it’s not 1937 anymore!” – directly referencing the politically-driven Great Purge/Great Terror of the 1930s under Stalin, where it’s estimated that anywhere between 950,000 and 1.2million people died both in and outside of detention in gulags in the Soviet state.
So much for the tolerant World Cup atmosphere. From the video of @gruppa_voina‘s police interrogation after @pussyrrriot‘s final protest, a cop says: “You shit all over Russia, yes?! It’s a shame it’s not 1937 anymore!”pic.twitter.com/YhhKiuZLkk
— max seddon (@maxseddon) July 15, 2018
We’ll keep this updated as more information comes to hand.
