NOT OVER

Russia Bans Pussy Riot Film

Was set to debut at leading Moscow theatre.

Two members of the punk-rock collective Pussy Riot may have been released from prison, but the battle with Russian control continues. A Moscow theatre was forced on Saturday to cancel the premier of the film Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer after being ordered by the city’s top cultural official. Gogol Theatre Center director Kirill Serebrennikov posted the letter from Sergei Kapkov, the head of Moscow’s cultural department, on his Facebook page. “Until recently, in all interviews, I would declare like a mantra: ‘There’s no censorship at the theatre, there’s no censorship at the theatre!’” Serebrennikov wrote. “Cynical, pointless, and stupid.” Two members of Pussy Riot, Masha Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, were released from prison earlier this week. They had been sentenced to two years in prison for “hooliganism” after a protest against Russian President Vladimir Putin.