Petrelis Files

Pussy Riot/SF's Drag Act to be Live-Streamed from Russian Concert on 3/3

[UPDATE: Action happens rain or shine! Bring umbrellas!]

A number of new and wonderful developments are in place for a fantastic evening of activism, performance art, global queer and feminist solidarity building for the Monday, March 3 rally outside Davies Hall at Van Ness and Grove Street.

(Pussy Riot whipped by uniformed Cossack during Sochi Olympics in February.)

First up, queer lesbian feminist of Ukrainian heritage Nadia Stulkowsky-Winstead and Todd Swindell have rounded up Pussy Riot supporters who will wear the group'x iconic bright dresses and balaclavas. All are encouraged to dress up and join them as they host a Pussy Riot dance party at our rally.For the time being, they've adopted the name Pussy Riot/SF, which may be the world's first affiliate of the Russian feminist punkers.

Second, we have Punk Boy SF committed to showing up at the rally and live-streaming the entire night of action that begins at 7 pm and given the 12-hour time difference between here and St. Petersburg and Moscow where it will be 7 am, Russians just waking up on Tuesday morning can view our rally. How cool is that?

You can find Punk Boy SF's live-stream channel here and that is where an archived version of the vigil will be posted after we hit the streets for a lot of fun and crucial international solidarity and support for LGBT Russians, Pussy Riot members and human rights defenders across Russia.

We have lots of signs that need to be held up for the cameras outside the concert by the St Petersburg Philharmonic, which we are protesting because the conductor Yuri Temirkanov, pictured left, is best buddies with and strong supporter of Vladimir Putin. Temirkanov illuminated his own beliefs to a Russian paper in which he displayed sexist thinking when he suggested that female conductors run counter to nature. “The essence of the conductor’s profession is strength,” he said. “The essence of a woman is weakness.”

Pussy Riot/SF says to the world: We have many reasons to rally! Please come out and join us! Our Facebook event page is here.