The Russian punk protest group whose members were sentenced to two years in prison in 2012 was Pussy Riot.
The case followed a brief protest performance at Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour on 21 February 2012. Pussy Riot members criticized Vladimir Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church, particularly the church leadership’s support for Putin during his presidential campaign. The performance was stopped by security officials.
On 17 August 2012, Maria Alyokhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina Samutsevich were convicted of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred and each received a two-year sentence. Samutsevich’s sentence was suspended on appeal, while the sentences of Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova were initially upheld. The case drew international criticism and made Pussy Riot a global symbol of political protest and artistic resistance.
A frequent quiz trap is treating the individual defendants as the group’s name. Alyokhina, Tolokonnikova and Samutsevich were members involved in the trial; Pussy Riot was the collective being identified in the question. The two surviving prison sentences were later shortened by an amnesty, and Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova were released in December 2013.