RUSSIAN REBEL punk group Pussy Riot is sending frontwoman Nadya Tolokno on a flying visit to Hackney.

The feminist punk group formed in Moscow to object to the re-election of Vladimir Putin and was jailed when, in a Russian Orthodox cathedral, the players begged the Virgin Mary to drive Putin out.

Now Tolokno is coming to Stoke Newington (some might say she’s suffered enough).

Since their release they have campaigned for humanitarianism.

Recently they collaborated with prankster artists the Connor Brothers. The, uhm, Pussys and the Connors have become friends, working on many projects together, including the formation of an NGO to help the refugees stranded at Calais in France. Tolokno said: “The refugee crisis… offers us the opportunity to put human life before economic concerns.

“We have a moral duty to join together and show our governments that we are willing to do whatever is necessary to provide sanctuary to our fellow human beings during this humanitarian crisis.”

The visual artists will also be plugging their latest exhibition, So It Goes…, launching at Hang-Up this week and the vocal artist will be plugging the band’s latest single.

David Altheer 091115

* How you can help refugees.

* Hang-Up gallery, 81 Stoke Newington Road N16 8AD, Friday 13 November-Sunday 6 December 2015  

* Emboldened underscored words in most cases indicate a hyperlink.