Lucy Shtein

{{Infobox person

| name = Lucy Shtein

| image = Lucy Shtein.jpg

| birth_name = Lyudmila Petrovna Shtein

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1996|07|02}}{{cn|date=January 2025}}

| citizenship = {{plainlist|

Russia
Iceland (since 2023)

}}

| occupation = Political activist

| organization = Pussy Riot

}}

Lucy Shtein ({{langx|ru|Люся Штейн}} – Lyusya Shtein, born Lyudmila Petrovna Shtein ({{langx|ru|Людмила Петровна Штейн}}) on July 2, 1996) is a Russian activist and member of punk-rock collective Pussy Riot.

Activism and criminal charges

In 2021, Shtein was placed in house arrest in Moscow with her girlfriend, Maria Alyokhina, for supporting political prisoners in Russia.{{Cite web |last=Ramachandran |first=Naman |date=2021-03-17 |title=Pussy Riot House Arrest Likely to be Extended, Case Hearing This Week |url=https://variety.com/2021/politics/global/pussy-riot-house-arrest-1234932595/ |access-date=2024-05-03 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |last=Harding |first=Luke |date=2021-03-17 |title=Prominent supporters of Alexei Navalny face 'indefinite' house arrest |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/17/prominent-supporters-alexei-navalny-indefinite-house-arrest-pussy-riot-kremlin-protests |access-date=2024-05-03 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} A tracking bracelet mounted to her ankle was used to track Shtein while she remained under house arrest.{{Cite web |last=Joffre |first=Tzvi |date=2022-05-16 |title=Pussy Riot member placed on Russian wanted list after escape |url=https://www.jpost.com/international/article-706837 |access-date=2024-05-17 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |language=en}} Shtein, and later Alyokhina, used green food courier outfits to escape.{{Cite news |last1=Hopkins |first1=Valerie |last2=Friedman |first2=Misha |date=2022-05-10 |title=Leader of Pussy Riot Band Escapes Russia, With Help From Friends |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/10/world/europe/pussy-riot-russia-escape.html |access-date=2024-05-03 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} Shtein also smuggled her pet rat in the food delivery bag.{{Cite news |last=Sauer |first=Pjotr |date=2022-05-11 |title='It was foolproof': Pussy Riot activist tells of courier-suit escape from Russia |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/11/pussy-riot-activist-lucy-shtein-tells-of-courier-suit-escape-from-russia |access-date=2024-05-03 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite news |last=Ebel |first=Francesca |date=June 1, 2022 |title=With her PlayStation and her pet rat: how one member of Pussy Riot fled Russia |url=https://www.economist.com/1843/2022/06/01/with-her-playstation-and-her-pet-rat-how-one-member-of-pussy-riot-fled-russia |access-date=2024-05-03 |newspaper=The Economist |issn=0013-0613}}

Shtein has spoken against laws in Russia that ban "LGBT propaganda",{{Cite news |last=Ebel |first=Francesca |date=2022-11-24 |title=Russia advances bill to criminalize 'promoting' LGBTQ relationships |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/11/24/russia-lgbtq-duma-laws/ |access-date=2024-05-16 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}} and in 2022 she and other members of Pussy Riot performed at the pride parade in St. Petersburg, Florida.{{Cite news |last=Wynne |first=Sharon Kennedy |date=2022-05-20 |title=St. Pete Pride makes starry return |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/tampa-bay-times-st-pete-pride-makes-sta/147521269/ |access-date=2024-05-16 |work=Tampa Bay Times |pages=A3}} In 2023, she and three other members of Pussy Riot protested the Russian invasion of Ukraine.{{Cite news |last=Dixon |first=Robyn |date=2023-12-04 |title=In second act, Russian activist group Pussy Riot protests Ukraine war |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/03/russia-pussy-riot-ukraine-war/ |access-date=2024-05-16 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}

In November 2023 a court in Russia charged Shtein with sharing fake news about the Russian military.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2023-11-07 |title=Exiled Pussy Riot Member Arrested in Absentia for 'War Fakes' |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/11/07/exiled-pussy-riot-member-arrested-in-absentia-for-war-fakes-a83021 |access-date=2024-05-16 |website=The Moscow Times |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Morris-Grant |first=Brianna |date=2023-11-07 |title=Pussy Riot member Lucy Shtein fled Russia dressed as a delivery driver — she's now on an international wanted list |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-07/pussy-riot-russia-escape-wanted-list/103076090 |access-date=2024-05-17 |work=ABC News |language=en-AU}} In 2024, a Russian court sentenced her to six years in prison, in absentia, for posts on X in which she condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine.{{Cite web |date=27 March 2024 |title=Russia sentences Pussy Riot activist to six years in absentia for Ukraine "war fakes" |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-sentences-pussy-riot-activist-six-years-absentia-ukraine-war-fakes-2024-03-27/ |access-date=3 May 2024 |website=Reuters |language=en-US}}

In response to Navalny's death in 2024, Pussy Riot members Shtein and Nadya Tolokonnikova took part in memorial action outside of the Russian Embassy in Berlin, along with Lyubov Sobol and Marina Ovsyannikova.{{Cite web |date=18 Feb 2024 |title=Pussy Riot Members, Others Honor Navalny At Berlin Memorial Event |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-navalny-pussy-riot-berlin-memorial/32824811.html |access-date=3 May 2024 |website=Radio Free Europe |language=en-US}}

Since 2022, Shtein has been working with the "North Caucasus SOS" crisis group, which protects the rights of and evacuates persecuted LGBTQ+ people from Chechnya, Dagestan, and other republics of the North Caucasus region of Russia. The work of human rights activists from "North Caucasus SOS" is highlighted in the HBO documentary "Welcome to Chechnya".{{Cn|date=September 2024}}

Personal life

Shtein has lived in Vilnius, Lithuania since her escape from Russia in 2022.{{Cite news |date=17 February 2024 |title=Russian emigres gather across Europe to mourn Navalny |work=Cyprus Mail; Nicosia |id={{ProQuest|}} }} In 2023 the government of Iceland granted Shtein Icelandic citizenship via parliamentary decree.{{Cite web |last=Tómas |first=Ragnar |date=2023-05-10 |title=Two Members of Pussy Riot to Receive Icelandic Citizenship |url=https://www.icelandreview.com/news/two-members-of-pussy-riot-to-receive-icelandic-citizenship/ |access-date=2024-05-16 |website=Iceland Review |language=en-US}}