Pussy Riot's Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova stopped by The Colbert Report last night to chat about their experiences in Russian prisons and their reason for visiting the United States.
Colbert began the interview saying, "Welcome to the United States. Have you been to an Olive Garden yet?" Despite needing a translator, the two women were not caught off guard by Stephen Colbert's sarcasm but rather responded with witty comments when he joked about being personal friends with Vladimir Putin and threatened to search them after the show. "We've had two years of practice hiding things from searches," Tolokonnikova replied.
Colbert asked the women why they were against Putin "who's just trying to preserve the peace and bring Russia to a brighter future." Alyokhina responded, "We have different ideas about a brighter future. We don't want a shirtless man on a horse leading us."
Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova explained why they were freed from prison and why they thought it was a PR stunt. "[Putin and other government officials] were fed up with us. ...We don't think it was a successful stunt; we don't think it improved the image of Russia. Maybe Putin made a mistake and should throw us back in jail."
The said the reason they were in America was "to look at prisons, talk to human rights activists, and learn from their experience." Following their release, they have begun work to reform the Russian prison system.
Finally, Colbert asked why their group was named "Pussy Riot" and not some Russian name ("we wanted to let English-speaking people enjoy themselves,") and what it takes to become a member. They told him that "even you" could be a member. "We could even come up with an honorary Pussy Riot tradition for you... but we'll only talk to you about this after you call Putin."
Tonight both members will speak at Amnesty International's Bringing Human Rights Home concert in Brooklyn.
Before he signed off, Colbert instructed to Putin to "Leave those girls alone." And put on his own Pussy Riot facemask.
Watch the full interview here, and let us know what you think in the comments section below!
