Watch the jailed members of Pussy Riot walk free

The Russian political activists have criticized their early release as "a PR exercise" designed to stave off a possible Olympics boycott

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova
(Image credit: (AP Photo/Tatyana Vishnevskaya))
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After more than a year of imprisonment, the two remaining jailed members of Russian punk group Pussy Riot have been released. But in an interview on Monday, the newly freed Maria Alyokhina insisted she'd rather be back inside, calling her release a "PR exercise" intended to make Russia look good and stave off potential boycotts before the Olympics begin in Sochi, Russia, in February. "If I had a choice to refuse, I would have, without a doubt," said Alyokhina.

Shortly after her release, Tolokonnikova addressed a group of waiting journalists about her plans for future activism. "I'll do everything for those people who want help and support, and who need to receive it from me. I'll do everything I can to help prisoners now that I have ties to the jail system." In her own post-release interview, Maria Alyokhina expressed her desire to remain politically active. "The situation in the Nizhny Novgorod Prison, I hope, will remain under my control. Women who spoke out against labor law violations should be listened to, and their rights should not be violated anymore."

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Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina were originally imprisoned for participating in a performance dubbed "A Punk Prayer." The two women, along with five of their fellow band members, donned balaclavas and delivered a brief performance at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. The performance, which was intended as an attack on both Putin and his ties to the Russian Orthodox Church, urged the Virgin Mary to "become a feminist." Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina were later convicted of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" and sentenced to prison until March 2014. Watch the performance that landed them in jail:

Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.