Sophia Anita Reyes on November 8th, 2016

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Among the attendees at Monday night’s program “Pussy Riot In Conversation – Election Eve” were those who were disappointed there was no performance — they missed the “In Conversation” part — and those, like Josh, who didn’t mind.

As patrons were invited to do at the Regent Theater, Josh, a twentysomething, was outside the venue writing a question on a notecard to be submitted to the evening’s panel. “To me, it’s not about the music, it’s about the message,” he said.

The panel featured Maria Alyokhina, a member of the feminist punk collective who served two years in a Russian labor camp after an arrest for mounting a protest/a live show in an Orthodox Christian Cathedral. She was joined by Sasha Bogino, Pussy Riot’s media coordinator; Allison Wolfe, frontwoman of L.A.’s Sex Stains and a torchbearer of the riot grrrl movement in her days with Bratmobile; L.A. artist Shepard Fairey; and Sergey Smirnov, the editor of the two-year-old Mediazone, a Russian news site focusing on courts and the prison system.

The night evolved into a well-meaning if meandering discourse on Pussy Riot’s struggles, feminism here and abroad and, of course, today’s U.S. election.

The program opened with an introduction by the organization “Make America Smart Again,” who instructed the audience to go out and vote. Next was Smirnov, who introduced an unreleased, 13-minute trailer of the upcoming two hour Pussy Riot documentary. Then came the panel, ushered in by a video of the politically charged violence that occurs in Russia.

“The world gave three unknown girls love,” Alyokhina said after the video. “I feel like I need to give back and support.” Then came a slide show of Pussy Riot supporters and performance artists. Most notable was Petr Pavlensky, who wrapped himself naked in barbed wire in the middle of a busy street, and even nailed his scrotum at the Red Square. His efforts symbolized, “… the expansion of the growing presence of the prison system in Russia.”

After Smirnov talked about Alyokhina’s work with Mediazone, Fairey turned the topic to the U.S. election: “It’s your country, you better be fucking voting,” he said.

Of course, the prospects of a Donald Trump presidency were met with derision, while Hillary Clinton’s possible ascent to the nation’s highest office was met with mixed feelings.

“A woman president would be good, sure,” Alyokhina said. “It’s important to compare the U.S. and Russia. A lot of people give an excuse saying that they will manage somehow, but look at an example and make a choice.”

Added Wolfe: “I’m excited to maybe have a woman president, but not in a corporate capitalist setting.”

“I want Michelle Obama to be president, but Hillary is cool too,” Bogino said. “But Trump is offensive. Why would you vote for him? He says ‘those kinds of things’ about women, yet women still want to vote for him. Why? The country does not belong to the government, it belongs to the citizens. It’s your country. Fight against them.”

With the crowd growing restless, the program finally turned to audience questions. Like: “What would you do if Trump was President?” The panel could barely answer over the uproar of the audience.

Alyokhina on her thoughts about the political climate: “It is possible to change here, but it is not happening because it is politically profitable [to remain the same].”

On feminism in Russia, Bogino explained: “Women hate feminism in Russia. Women should have any life they want without judging each other. Don’t tell me how to live my life. My grandmother asks me, ‘Why do you have short hair?’ And I respond, ‘Why do you care?’”

Overall, attendees (many of whom departed early) expressed disappointment with the program. “It was too open-ended, and the advertising was misleading,” said one, Lupe. “A friend of mine gave up her ticket because she thought they were actually going to perform, but obviously that’s not what happened.”

Added another, Gram: “I really wanted to hear more from Allison Wolfe, but it was so unorganized. No questions were asked about her direct relationship with Pussy Riot and the Riot Grrl movement.”

Photos by Carl Pocket, courtesy of Spaceland Presents