Pussy Riot To Appear In Third Series Of 'House Of Cards'

Members of the Russian punk group imprisoned for their protest against their government are set to appear in the next season of acclaimed US drama House of Cards.Nadya Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, of punk bandPussy Riot, were spotted on the set of the hit politcal show, which stars Oscar-winner Kevin Spacey.

According to local reports from the Baltimore City Paper, two sources from production team of the Netflix drama confirmed that the members of the anti-Putinist punk group were spotted on set in the city, with one staffer confirming: “Nadezhda and Maria from Pussy Riot were on set, and are in season 3 of HoC.”

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The band came into notoriety in 2012 after they were arrested for their now infamous ‘punk prayer’ - a protest critical of the Russian president which took place in a Moscow cathedral. Both Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina - along with fellow Pussy Riot member Yekaterina Samutsevich - were sentenced to two years in a prison colony for ‘hooliganism motivated by religious hatred.’ Their cause sparked other protests across the globe and the trio received worldwide support from journalists, celebrities, political leaders and fellow activists - with Sir Paul McCartney, Madonna, Pete Townsend and Jarvis Cocker among those who pledged their support for the group.

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The pair were released last year after serving 22 months and have since become the public face of the punk protest group, speaking regularly about issues in their home country. Their reported appearance in House of Cards ties in with a report from the Wall Street Journal (via NME) from earlier this year, where the girls discussed meeting with the show’s producers.

In the piece, Alyokhina said: “It’s important for us to meet people who are doing political cinema in the U.S. because in Russia, it doesn’t exist, and we want to know how it happens.” The pair also spoke highly of TV host and political satirist Stephen Colbert, describing him as a ‘persona that doesn’t really exist in Russia,’ but one ‘that Russia really needs.’

Recently, the pair revealed plans to sue the Russian government over their imprisonment for their ‘punk prayer’ protest.

Producers of House of Cards have yet to comment officially on the girls’ reported appearance in the show and how it will affect the plot.

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