A Russian political activist and member of anti-Putinist punk rock group Pussyriot delivered a book reading at the Freedom Press bookshop in Shoreditch.
On 10 February, Maria Alyokhina, 37, gave the reading from her new book: ‘Political Girl: Life and Fate in Russia’, detailing her introduction to political activism and punk rock, the grim details of life within a Siberian penal colony and her subsequent escape from Russia in 2022.
Alyokhina was arrested in 2012 for ‘hooliganism motivated by religious hatred’ following a Pussyriot performance in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, and was sentenced to two years detention in a Siberian penal colony.
Describing her experience, Alylokhina said: “Officially you work 8 hours a day, but nobody give a f**k, realistically its 10, 12 hours.
“They locked me to solitary confinement for four months […] but they were escorting me to work, so I was working like everyone, but it was prohibited to talk with me, because they thought it’s kind of dangerous to talk with me.
“In mass penal colonies, yes, there is self-organization, but it’s kind of a hierarchy system, which is violent, which is a little bit based on sexual domination.
“There are a small amount of people, like 5%, who have privileged positions, which have been given by administration. Usually it’s women who have huge prison terms, like 10, 18 years, and they don’t work in a fabric.”
“They can plant razors in your box, and it’s a prohibited object.
“Your probation goes to garbage. And this can be done by your best friend. So this is reality which they created, but it’s not like Putin’s innovation.
“You have one small box of possessions. So if you have books, there is nowhere to put your carrots and your nuts.
“It’s still [the] legacy of Soviet Union, it’s still kind of just copy-pasted with some additions, like you can buy washing powder.”
After carrying out her sentence, Alyokhina went on to found Mediazona in 2014, what is now the most cited independent Russian media outlet.
Alyokhina escaped Russia in 2022 disguised as a delivery driver, after officials announced she would be re-admitted to a penal colony, and now lives in London with her son, Filip.
Alyokhina has also been a vocal critic of the war in Ukraine, and in September 2025, was sentenced to 13 years in prison in absentia, charged with spreading false information about the Russian military.
Speaking on the Russian activists compelled to speak up, Alyokhina said: “It’s just people. And there is war censorship in Russia. So it’s illegal to call the war the war.
“It’s illegal to call for sanctions. It’s illegal. It’s illegal to show anything Ukrainian.
“Those who wanted to leave have left, they say the best have died.
“Those left, must choose between occupation and death, and they have chosen death – they will not give up.”
Featured image credit: George Gardner
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