If you don’t know the Ukrainian pop star Ruslana Lyzhychko, you should. She’s known as the Britney Spears of Eastern Europe, except she doesn’t shave her head for attention, she leads political rallies, and she was recently a key figure in the Euromaidanprotests in Kiev. 

Topless demonstrators in Ukraine are part of the self-defined “sextremist” Femen group – radical women protesting the Russian invasion of Crimea. Femen is a stark example of frontline femmes who use their bodies and their voices to fight status quo corruption, war and a political oligarchy.

The U.S. media have been raving. "Pussy Riot gals stun Brooklyn crowd with powerful speech," blared the New York Post about the duo's appearance at a charity concert in New York this week. "Pussy Riot stole the show from Madonna," was the verdict from Time. They put in a bravado performance on the Colbert Report, and even had the New Yorker gushing about their presumed artistic achievements. Pretty impressive.

The U.S. media have been raving. "Pussy Riot gals stun Brooklyn crowd with powerful speech," blared the New York Post about the duo's appearance at a charity concert in New York this week. "Pussy Riot stole the show from Madonna," was the verdict from Time. They put in a bravado performance on the Colbert Report, and even had the New Yorker gushing about their presumed artistic achievements. Pretty impressive.

There are at least a couple of documentary films on Pussy Riot, the art collective notorious for lip-synching a punk protest song in a Russian Orthodox cathedral. But Russian authorities had made it clear, as recently as a month ago, that they didn’t appreciate public attempts to screen such films.

The two remaining imprisoned Pussy Riot members were released from prison Monday under Russia’s new amnesty law. The pair slammed the move, and accused President Vladimir Putin of freeing them as a public relations effort meant to smooth out international human rights criticisms ahead of the winter Olympics.