In today’s episode, Diana Burkot of Pussy Riot joins Oktaves Podcast to discuss her journey from underground activist musician in Moscow to political exile in Iceland. With an 8-year prison sentence hanging over her head and Pussy Riot labeled an “extremist organization” by Russian authorities, Diana shares the untold story of creating art, music, and activism under authoritarian pressure.In this powerful conversation, Diana reveals the inner workings of Pussy Riot as a multi-person art collective, her new “Sweat and Blood” multimedia project, and how she continues to fight government censorship through music, exhibitions, and performance art.Diana takes us behind the scenes of Pussy Riot’s evolution from a two-person collective in 2011 to a rotating group of approximately 20 artists, musicians, and activists. She recounts her first action in Red Square and the infamous 2012 Cathedral of Christ the Savior protest that changed everything. What began as direct political actions has transformed into a multimedia movement spanning exhibitions, albums, performances, and documentary films, each project serving as a platform for political statements that challenge authoritarian power.After fleeing Russia in 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine, Diana faces escalating persecution from afar. On September 15, Russian authorities charged her with “discrediting the Russian army,” carrying an 8-year prison sentence. Just months later on December 15, the government designated Pussy Riot an “extremist organization,” a label that threatens anyone who communicates with members with 6-10 years imprisonment. Despite frozen bank accounts and police harassment of her family, Diana continues creating from Iceland, where she’s building a new artistic home while studying at the Icelandic Art University.Her “Sweat and Blood” project exemplifies her belief in people over heroes, featuring character-driven narratives of everyday resisters like Mila, a feminist activist; Kirill, a Belarusian facing activist burnout; and Igor, who fled militarization. With a major exhibition planned for Sweden in February 2026, Diana is creating an entire artistic universe that challenges algorithmic censorship and documents stories of resistance. She also discusses her experimental “Popera” collaboration, where she composes brass music that bridges fairy tale storytelling with LGBTQ+ rights advocacy.
This conversation explores the cost of creative freedom, the power of anonymous resistance inside Russia, and why Diana believes society, not superheroes, will bring change. It’s a testament to art’s role in fighting oppression and the unbreakable spirit of those who refuse to be silenced.
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Welcome to the Oktaves podcast🎙️ Talks with musicians! Where we uplift local musicians voices.
This podcast is about chatting about and sharing with each other tips and tricks on how to succeed in the music industry as an independent musician, with an emphasis on branding and marketing, and overall management, whether your goal is to stay forever independent or get label-ready. We are very passionate about breaking the cycle of gatekeeping in the industry, so we strive towards bringing you conversations where these layers of the onion will be peeled one by one.
We are also here to uplift and shed light on independent (or previously independent) musicians in our community, who are so kind to share their struggles, their wins, successes, their strategies, and advice or some secrets possibly to how they got there.
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