"Pussy Riot band member forced to flee Moscow to Lithuania"

After the invasion of Ukraine and the regime's fear of criticism, the house arrest of 33-year-old Maria Eliochina was commuted to 21 days in a penal colony - and she managed to escape to Vilnius via Belarus.

Eliochina ran two years in prison in 2012 following her protest against Vladimir Putin

News agencies

10/05/2022

Tuesday, 10 May 2022, 23:00 Updated: 23:15

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Maria Eliohina, a member of the Russian protest band "Pussy Riot" that became famous around the world when the punk band put on a show against President Vladimir Putin at Moscow's main cathedral in 2012, managed to escape the capital in April, and is currently in Vilnius, Lithuania, the New York Times reported tonight (Tuesday). .

According to the report, Eliohina, who in 2013 served a two-year sentence for "hooliganism," has been jailed six more times since last summer - each time for 15 days.

In April, Putin toughened his regime in an attempt to stifle any possible criticism of the invasion of Ukraine, and authorities announced that Elihuina's house arrest would be commuted to 21 days in a penal colony.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Victory Day, Red Square, Moscow, May 9, 2022 (Photo: Reuters, Sputnik / Mikhail Metzel / Pool via REUTERS)

The artist decided it was time to leave Russia, at least temporarily.

She disguised herself as sending food to evade the Moscow police, who followed the apartment where she was staying.

Eliochina even left her cell phone behind to prevent police from monitoring her.

A friend drove her to the border with Belarus, but when she tried to cross the border into Belarus for the first time, she was stopped by the border guards for six hours and sent back.

The second attempt also failed, but for the third time Elihuina managed to pass.

Friends outside the country were able to obtain a travel document that gave her the same status as that of an EU citizen.

The document was stolen to Belarus, and finally, after a tense week, Elihuina boarded a bus to Lithuania, to a place of safety.

According to the New York Times, Pussy Riot will embark on a tour on May 12 in Berlin to raise money for Ukraine.

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