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This is the third case study chapter on the use of gender norms and sexualization as political tools in Russia. It investigates a new wave of Russian feminist activism that began in 2010, and the analyses of politics and political legitimacy that this activism offers. This chapter shows that some self-identified feminist groups, such as Pussy Riot, consciously make use of the same patriarchal paradigm used by pro-regime and liberal activists, while other Russian feminist groups—outside the cultural spotlight—overtly critique the sexism and homophobia that they see displayed across the political arena. The chapter presents Russian feminists’ explanations for the prevalence of gender norms and sexualization in Russian politics, including the role of the Russian Orthodox Church. It examines the Pussy Riot trial and the repression of other instances of feminist protest to highlight the regime’s antagonism to feminist ideology. The Ukrainian group Femen is also discussed.

In this chapter the authors strive to answer existing research desiderata by exploring the role of Pussy Riot as a civil society actor in the emancipation of women in a national as well as international setting. In order to address this issue, the authors explore the political, societal and religious as well as the gender-political and economic context in which Pussy Riot is located and respectively acting, the reasons behind the formation of Pussy Riot and its recent history and the specific ways in which the group pronounces its political and religious, feminist and economy critical protest.

Chapter 2 discusses series of scandals around the Russian Orthodox Church perceived as insults to Russian society, and events connected with Pussy Riot’s protests. Pussy Riot, a feminist punk band, stormed the main altar of Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral and performed “Punk Prayer,” containing crude language directed toward the president of Russia and leader of the Russian Orthodox Church. By using this divergence insult they protested the collusion between the Russian Orthodox Church and President Vladimir Putin. For the Russian government it was a legitimacy insult. The government-controlled Russian mass media were quick to shape public opinion to the effect that Pussy Riot insulted a place of worship and the Orthodox faith in general. As a result, three members of the band were convicted of “hooliganism” and sentenced to two years in prison.

The plot of a narrative claim for human rights is delivered by a political performance. This chapter explores performance genres of testimonial, political theatre, protest allegories, and parody. It profiles cases of the Vagina Monologues, India's Anna Hazare protest movement, political satire in Russia, and the Colbert Report.

Chapter 3 investigates how the notions of justice and testimony come to bear on Russian documentary theatre practice through analysis of a series of productions that use either real or imagined trial transcripts as the basis for their performance texts. At its center is analysis of the play Chas vosemnadtsat (One Hour Eighteen Minutes), which uses verbatim and constructed texts to stage an imagined trial of the prison and medical staff involved in the final days of attorney Sergei Magnitsky. Through its analysis of One Hour Eighteen Minutes, this chapter investigates the interdependent nature of reenacting the past and the performance of justice in the Russian documentary theatre repertoire.