Pussy Riot Whipped in Sochi

Pussy Riot members, preparing to perform on a public plaza in Sochi on Wednesday, were quickly stopped by a militia of Russian cossacks. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, recently freed from prison, was pepper sprayed, knocked to the ground, and repeatedly whipped. Other members were assaulted by the group of men, and the AP captured the attack on video. 

Soon after arriving in Sochi the day before, Pussy Riot members were arrested and held for four hours. The ambush by Russian Cossacks Wednesday interrupted the punk art collective’s attempt to shoot a music video for their new song “Putin will teach you how to love your Motherland.”