Nadya Tolokonnikova is an artist, political activist, and founding member of Pussy Riot, the punk-rock art collective that garnered international headlines, and support, after several members were sent to jail following a performance in the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

Tolokonnikova is the recipient of the LennonOno Grant for Peace and corecipient of the Hannah Ardent Prize for Political Thought. In 2013, she founded Zona Prava, a prisoners' rights organization. Later, she started MediaZona, an independent news service now partnered with the Guardian.