Nadya Tolokonnikova is a Russian musician, conceptual artist, and political activist. She’s the founder of the feminist punk collective, Pussy Riot, and has a history of political activism both in and out of the group. In Moscow in 2011, Pussy Riot began staging unauthorized provocative guerrilla performances in public locations, later editing footage of the performances into music videos, promoting gender equality, LGBT rights, and opposition to Russian President, Vladimir Putin. In 2012, she was convicted of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” after being arrested during a performance in Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. According to Vladimir Putin, the work “undermined the moral foundations of the Russian nation,” sentencing Nadya and two others to two years’ hard labor in Siberia. She was recognized by the Russian human rights group “Union of Solidarity with Political Prisoners,” named a “prisoner of conscience due to the severity of the response of the Russian authorities” by Amnesty International, and received the LennonOno Grant for Peace in 2012. Her first collaboration with Dave Sitek (TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Kelis), “Chaika,” was released in February 2016, and her debut EP, xxx, released last October.