We knowingly chose to protest in the Christ the Savior Cathedral, the most important church in the country, to denounce the connection between the church and Putin.

Pussy Riot is against the cult of consumerism and the commercialization of art. Our performances were always open for everyone and anyone can see our video clips for free on the Internet.

We triggered a discussion in society about the connection between church and state as well as our justice system. Putin is the leader, the icon and the guarantor of an authoritarian system that crushes Kremlin critics along with the help of the secret police and ever changing methods and laws.

It's strange when you're innocent, are you supposed to ask for forgiveness from the judge who's ready to put you away for several years? No, this wasn't even discussed.

We are a Russian group and we want to change the situation in Russia. We criticize our own government and it would be strange if we did that from abroad. We don't need performances in the West to put Putin's regime under pressure. The punishments against us have shown us that we succeeded.

I think that Medvedev and Putin are in on it together. One is playing the good cop and the other the bad cop.