Pussy Riot tell Colbert: ‘No PR stunt can fix Russia’s image’

On last night’s “The Colbert Report,” the recently freed members of Pussy Riot, Masha Alyokhina and Nadya Tolokonnikova, discussed their opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin with great humor and grace. Watch part one and two of the interview below.

Stephen Colbert kicked off the segment by asking the two women – who have been meeting with human rights activists in the U.S. – whether they have visited an Olive Garden yet. With the help of a translator, Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova smiled at Colbert”s sarcastic questions and replied with jokes of their own. Here are a few highlights:

As to why they got arrested in the first place: “We sang a fun song in a church. We had a lot of fun songs, one of them was called ‘Putin Piss Off.'”

 

On why Putin finally decided to free them: “They got fed up with us.” And later, in reply to whether their release was a PR stunt in preparation for the upcoming Olympics in Sochi: “Maybe Putin made a mistake and he should just throw us back in jail.”

 

How they challenged Russia’s infringement of gay rights even before they formed Pussy Riot: “We kissed female police women. We managed to kiss about forty of them. They would often take us to the side and ask ‘why do you have to do this in public?’”

The women encouraged anyone to join them in Pussy Riot and found an ally in Colbert, who donned a Pussy Riot mask and sent a message to Putin: “Vladimir, I don’t ask much, and I don’t ask often, but you leave those girls alone.”