 Pussy Riot is a collective formed in August 2011 . Their name is in English and is written in the Latin rather than Cyrillic alphabet . It usually appears thus in the Russian press , but sometimes the name is transliterated as " Пусси Райот " . It comprises around 11 performers and about 15 people who handle the technical work of shooting and editing their videos , which are posted on the Internet . Their costumes are usually brightly colored dresses and tights , even in bitterly cold weather , with their faces masked by balaclavas , both while performing and during interviews . During interviews they use nicknames such as " Balaclava " , " Cat " , " Seraph " , " Terminator " , and " Blondie " . In an interview with Gazeta.ru , a band member described their two @-@ minute concerts as performance art , creating images of " pure protest , saying : super heroes in balaclavas and acid bright tights seize public space in Moscow . " Another band member , who goes by the pseudonym Garadzha , told the Moskovskiye Novosti newspaper that the group is open to women recruits with limited musical talents . She said : " You don 't have to sing very well . It 's punk . You just scream a lot . " 
