On Sunday, Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot had a video shoot that was shut down by police who claimed the group was violating the country’s ban on “gay propaganda.”
Pussy Riot was shooting a video for a song called “БЕСИТ/RAGE” that involved the participation of 150 mostly queer and female activists.
Related: Pussy Riot returns, takes aim at Trump with ‘Make America Great Again’
According to Pitchfork the group says that police ordered the Lenfilm studio to shut off power while the group was recording the video. Police then prohibited the group from using a generator to continue the shoot.
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On their Instagram account, Pussy Riot released a video of the confrontation with the cops.
The CEO of Lenfilm, Inessa Yurchenko, who was appointed to the role just a few days ago, has since claimed the power outage was accidental and that the cops in the video are actors.
She also threatened to go to the police, herself, if Pussy Riot continued to cause more “provocations.”
On Instagram, Pussy Riot praised the activists, all of whom they say showed bravery by standing their ground and not running from the police.
They also vowed to get the video made one way or another, despite having lost $15,000 on the shut down shoot.
They are asking fans to help them raise money to begin again.
“The single, ‘БЕСИТ / RAGE,’” the group wrote on Instagram, “is dedicated to a pain that we – feminists and the queer people – feel being the enemies of the state. ‘A police baton on my ribs, I’m singing with blood today.’”
Also known as the law “aimed at protecting children from information promoting the denial of traditional family values,” the ban was signed by Vladimir Putin in 2013 and prohibits the use of press, radio, television, Internet, and other mediums to promote “nontraditional sexual relations to minors.”
In other words, it is illegal in Russia for minors to gain any exposure to LGBTQ people.
