BERLIN, May 12 (Reuters) – Russia, not Ukraine, needs denazification, said the leader of the anti-Kremlin punk band Pussy Riot, which left Russia this week disguised as a food courier before its band toured against the war.
At a rehearsal for a concert in the German capital on Thursday, Maria Alekhina said the Russians should think carefully about the war.
“I have no idea what the end of this reflection will be, but without it the country has no right to exist – like Germany after World War II. This is Russia, where we need to have denazification, not Ukraine, “she told Reuters.
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There should also be a tribunal against Russian President Vladimir Putin and army generals and leaders, she said.
Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation” to disarm the country and protect it from fascists. It denies targeting civilians.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on her remark that denazification is needed in Russia, not Ukraine, and that Putin and his generals must be tried.
To help her escape from house arrest, Alekhina wore a delivery uniform her friend had bought online and slipped out the back door of the building she was staying in, evading Russian police outside, she said.
“I went to another apartment, which was like a secret apartment, without my mobile phone,” she told Reuters Television.
Alyokhina said her compatriots want change, but that many are afraid of being thrown behind bars to speak.
“A lot of people are really scared because you can now go to jail for up to 10 years just to post pictures of Bucha, just because you made that post,” she said.
Russian officials have said a new law to stop the deliberate spread of “fake” news is needed to protect its military and fight disinformation about its military campaign in Ukraine.
Pussy Riot was rehearsing a new song about the war, Alyokhina said.
“We wrote it two weeks ago. This is against the war, against the war that Putin started against Ukraine. This is our statement and it will be fulfilled as part of the concert,” she said.
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Report by Daria Shamonova; Writing by Madeleine Chambers; Edited by Alison Williams
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