The Birth of Pussy Riot: Six Early Songs

Authors

  • Jamie Hendrickson

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21900/j.sourcelab.v3.971

Abstract

Vol 3. No. 2 (2022)

This issue of SourceLab introduces readers to the history of Pussy Riot, a Russian feminist punk rock band, through the lens of their early work.

This publication is part of the digital documentary edition series SourceLab, based at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Our Editorial Board conducts rigorous peer-review of every edition.

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Published

2022-06-13

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