Dylan Brogan
Pussy Riot member Masha Alyokhina speaking to protesters at the Solidarity Sing Along.
Masha Alyokhina, member of the Russian activist group Pussy Riot, made an appearance at the Solidarity Sing Along outside the State Capitol Nov. 18. Alyokhina was in town for a Q&A event at the Wisconsin Union Theater Thursday night.
“I just woke up and wasn’t expecting to sing,” Alyokhina told the crowd of approximately 100 singers. “This protest is really great. I hope we will have something [like this] in Russia. So let’s sing!”
The Solidarity Sing Along sprouted out of the massive street protests over Gov. Scott Walker’s union-busting Act 10 in 2011. Since then, a group has gathered to sing every weekday at the Capitol, surviving a crackdown on protests launched by Capitol Police Chief David Erwin in 2013.
“During the crackdown, [Pussy Riot] sent a solidarity message to us,” says Prentice Berge, who frequently plays guitar on Fridays when the protest moves from the Capitol Rotunda to the grounds of the Capitol so instruments can be played.
Celeste Carroll attended the Q&A event on Thursday. She first heard of the Solidarity Sing Along when Alyokhina mentioned the ongoing protest at the talk on campus. At the lecture, Alyokhina, Sasha Bogina and tour manager Alexander Cheparukhin shared videos of protest art and described Pussy Riot’s current work, which ranges from the investigative news outlet, Mediazona, to political theater that calls attention to the plight of Russia’s political prisoners.
“I had never really understood the politics of Russia,” says Carroll. “It was crazy to see the parallels between Russia and America. It was a reminder that I could take action after the recent election [of Donald Trump.]”
“Women, even in this country, are still so suppressed. Our voices are not always heard,” says Talya DeYoung, who attended the noontime event. “Pussy Riot makes sure their voices are heard. That’s very inspiring. They are very powerful women.”
Alyokhina spent two years in a Russian penal colony after being arrested on charges of “hooliganism” for a well-publicized song/action titled “Punk Prayer,” which took place in a Moscow Cathedral.
Ted Voth Jr., a regular at the Solidarity Sing Along, says Alyokhina’s visit brought out the biggest crowd the nearly daily protest has seen in a long time.
“Nice to see so many familiar faces. It’s like a reunion,” says Voth. “We’re still pissed off at [Gov. Scott] Walker and the shit he’s done to Wisconsin. Some of us are also pissed off at the shit the Democrats are doing. That’s why we’re here.”
