Police State

by Nadya Tolokonnikova

POLICE STATE documents Nadya Tolokonnikova's 10-day performance exhibition at MOCA in Los Angeles (June 2025), featuring photographs, prison letters, etchings, artwork by fellow Russian political prisoners, and documentation of the ICE and No Kings Day protests held outside the museum during her exhibit all woven into the narrative of resistance. Nadya Tolokonnikova is an artist, activist and a creator of Pussy Riot.

232 pages, Hardcover

Published December 12, 2025

About the author

NADYA TOLOKONNIKOVA is an artist, political activist, and founding member of Pussy Riot. She is the recipient of The Lennon Ono Grant for Peace, and is a co-recipient of The Hannah Arendt Prize for Political Thought. Following her release in 2013, she opened the Mordovia office of Zona Prava, a prisoners' rights non-governmental organization. Later, she started MediaZona, an independent news service now partnered with The Guardian.

Reviews

[Cazz · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're concerned about masked, armed agents in the streets of the US, about protesters being detained, put on watchlists, shot point blank, I couldn't recommend this book more. Nadya Tolokonnikova, lead activist of the group Pussy Riot, has a lot to share about her experience living in Russia under Putin's authoritarian regime, and being imprisoned 2 years for non-violent protest. Now she's in the US to bring awareness to the parallels she is seeing first-hand.

This book follows Nadya's live art exhibit, Police State, from June 2025 at MOCA Los Angeles. The unexpected twist of this, is that as she was doing the MOCA exhibit, are the very days ICE launched their occupation on LA. She joined the protests in the streets, and this book really gives a full picture of that time.

I found it really intriguing to learn about the curated artwork she hung about in the handmade Russian prison cell exhibit she lived in for a week. The artwork is made by a large handful of artists who are either actively imprisoned in Russia, or fighting legal battles with the Russian government. For what crime? Speech, posting online, expression, protest.

I'm now onto reading her 2018 book - Read & Riot: A Pussy Riot Guide to Activism.

[Casandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect coffee table book, conversation starter and inspirational device for an activist & artist

[Scott Satterwhite · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of Pussy Riot is so inspiring. Nadya Tolokonnikova is a powerful artist. and this book is a testament to her work and courage.