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Russian feminist protest punk rock group Pussy Riot shot to fame in 2012, when they performed their 'Punk Prayer' in Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, a church destroyed under Stalin and rebuilt in the 1990s. Many of their songs are opposed to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The 'Punk Prayer' asks that the "Mother of God, Drive Putin Away". They entered the church on 21st February 2012, and walking up to the altar put on balaclavas of different colours, and performed for barely a minute before being escorted away by guards.

Three of the group's members - Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich - were eventually arrested and put on trial, where they were convicted of 'hooliganism motivated by religious hatred'. Nadezhda and Maria were sentenced to two years' imprisonment in penal colonies hundreds of miles from Moscow. They were released in December 2013, after serving 21 months of their sentence.

Tom Service talked to Nadya Tolokonnikova of Pussy Riot about the Punk Prayer and the response in Russia to what happened.

This is the tenth of Ten Icons of a Russian Century, part of the Radio 3 season Breaking Free: A Century of Russian Culture.

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