Masha Alekhina and Nadya Tolokonnikova, members of the Russian band Pussy Riot, have dedicated their first English language song to victims of police brutality. Titled "I Can't Breathe", the song invokes the death of Eric Garner to paint a broad picture of suffering under an oppressive yoke.
Pussy Riot is perhaps best known for their civil disobedience aimed at Russian President Vladimir Putin's draconian regime. Speaking to BuzzFeed, the group commented, “We've known, on our own skin, what police brutality feels like and we can't be silent on this issue."
The music video for the song shows Alekhina and Tolokonnikova being buried alive wearing Russian riot police uniforms. Speaking of the video's strong imagery, the group said,
“Illegal violence in the name of the state kills not only its victims, but those who are chosen to carry out these actions. Policemen, soldiers, agents, they become hostages and are buried with those they kill, both figuratively and literally.”
"I Can't Breathe" also features a dramatic reading of the last words of Eric Garner. Those words resonated with Pussy Riot:
“We really could not breathe for this whole last year,” the women told BuzzFeed News. “Our previous ideas did not speak to what was happening in the conflict zone in Ukraine as we were realizing that Russia is burying itself alive in terms of the rest of the world. Committing suicide. Daily.”
Watch the music video along with another version set to images of the Eric Garner protests in New York, AFTER THE JUMP…
