Pussy Riot Rush the Field, Stage Protest at World Cup 2018 Final

They face charges after pitch invasion protesting Russia’s political and prison system
Pussy Riot member highfives Kylian Mbapp at the World Cup
Pussy Riot member high-fives Kylian Mbappé, photo by VI Images via Getty Images

Pussy Riot rushed the field during the 2018 World Cup final at Luzhniki stadium in Moscow. Four protesters rushed the pitch, dressed in old-fashioned police uniforms, to make a statement about Russia’s political and prison system. Immediately after the event, the punk group took to their social media accounts to say that “Pussy Riot members” were the ones who ran onto the field. They also shared a list of demands to the Russian government, including to free political prisoners, end “illegal arrests at protests,” and to “allow political competition in the country.”

The members who staged the pitch invasion have been named as Nika Nikulshina, Olga Kurachyova, Olga Pakhtusova, and Pyotr Verzilov. In a statement on Facebook Monday morning, Pussy Riot said the four protesters were detained overnight and denied access to their lawyer. They have been charged with “violating the rules for spectators at sporting events and of wearing police uniforms illegally,” the BBC reports. They face maximum fines of 10,000 roubles ($161) and 1,500 roubles for the respective charges.

One protester was able to run to the middle of the field and high five Kylian Mbappé, the 19-year-old soccer player who scored France’s fourth goal in the match against Croatia. France won the World Cup (4-2). Find Pussy Riot’s statement and footage of the protesters being dragged off the field below.

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“The citizens in question were taken to the local police station,” the Moscow branch of the Russian Interior Ministry told the Associated Press last night. Pussy Riot retweeted the below video, which appears to show two members being interrogated by police. According to the AP, Pussy Riot member Pyotr Verzilov tells a man off camera, “I am for Russia, just like you—if you are for Russia.” The man reportedly responds, “I sometimes wish it was 1937,” referring to the violent Stalinist campaign of political repression.

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Read more about Pussy Riot in Pitchfork’s 2016 interview with Nadya Tolokno.

This article was originally posted on July 15 at 1:12 p.m. Eastern. It was last updated on July 16 at 8:36 a.m. Eastern.