Pussy Riot explore the “The Cave-Man Psychology” of Trump & Putin

In a recent piece for Foreign Policy, Nadya Tolokonnikova, the leader of infamous Russian punk group Pussy Riot, has outlined the unnerving comparisons between Trump and Putin. Describing their ‘craven need for power, their fragile temperaments and inflated egos, and their anti-feminist sentiments’, she also went on to define a vital difference between the two leaders; while both ‘lash out’ and display ‘the knee-jerk reactions of children acting out’, Trump lacks the dictatorial tendencies of Putin in his actions – where Trump takes to Twitter to bash his enemies, Putin throws his in jail.

Tolokonnikova does not underestimate the power of Trump. She acknowledges his already far-reaching actions against immigrants, members of the LGBT community and women, including the global gag rule that has the potential to endanger the lives of women across the world. But Tolokonnikova reassures us that the US President is ‘just a symptom of the terrible conservative tendencies of American society’.

Speaking from experience, Tolokonnikova encourages activists and feminists to do their best to ‘be a pain in the ass’ for these leaders, as she did for Putin during her two year imprisonment. She says that it is crucial we do not ‘give them our fear’, as this is what both Trump and Putin have thrived on throughout their political career.

As we watch helplessly as illiberal decisions unfold almost daily in the lands of Trump and Putin, Tolokonnikova’s advice is a welcome addition to our arsenal. Let’s all be a pain in the ass.