Leader of Pussy Riot Band Escapes Russia, With Help From Friends

Maria V. Alyokhina first came to the attention of the Russian authorities — and the world — when her punk band and performance art group Pussy Riot staged a protest against President Vladimir V. Putin in Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral.

For that act of rebellion in 2012, she was sentenced to two years in prison for “hooliganism.” She remained determined to fight Mr. Putin’s system of repression, even after being jailed six more times since last summer.

But in April, as Mr. Putin cracked down on criticism of his war in Ukraine, the authorities announced that her effective house arrest would be converted to 21 days in a penal colony.

Ms. Alyokhina decided it was time to leave. She disguised herself as a food courier to evade the Moscow police, leaving her cellphone behind to avoid being tracked.

A friend drove her to Belarus. Eventually, she made it to Lithuania. “It sounds like a spy novel,” she said in an interview. Read more

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