Don’t Let Pussy Riot Into the Cathedral

For us the Punk Prayer in the Christ the Savior Cathedral is not too important anymore. We are different people now. We lived through a long life in prison; it is a totally different reality from the one you live, and this life, this common experience, unites us now much more than joint participation in the Punk Prayer in the Christ the Savior Cathedral. Russia is built on the model of a penal colony and that is why it is so important to change the penal colonies today to change Russia. I don’t consider this time wasted. I gained unique experience which will make it easier to really engage in human rights work. I became older, I saw the state from within, I saw this totalitarian machine as it is. 2 years ago I was a student at Moscow State University. Now Vladimir Putin has given me a cruel, but enlightening education at the IK-14 Penal Colony in Mordovia. For The Real Nadya Tolokonnikova the future will be less about Pussy Riot and more about our prison reform project Justice Zone. Meanwhile here on iRez, I, Fake Nadya share her ideology, but my work is a bit simpler. I organize Virtual Public Art Activities and operate a freedom apparel shop, Asylum in Your Embassy, which has locations on the web and in the virtual world Second Life.