Pussy Riot: Meet the protest-art group who claim responsibility for pitch invasion at World Cup final

Apart from being a celebration of talent, sporting spirit and diversity, global sporting events have often been seen as a platform to hold protests and send out messages, given their reach and popularity.

Tommie Smith and John Carlos' Black Power protest at the 1968 Olympics is considered one of the iconic moments of the 20th century.

The recently-concluded Fifa World Cup in Russia also provided fans, players and even foreigners a stage to voice out their opinions. Swiss stars Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri used the World Cup to send out a controversial nationalist message while Iranian supporters protested against female fans' stadium ban back home from Russia.

Russia's controversial protest-art group, Pussy Riot, used the biggest of all stages — the World Cup final — to make a stern anti-Kremlin statement even as president Vladimir Putin watched on from the stands at Luzhniki Stadium.

During the 52nd minute of the final between France and Croatia, three men and a woman simultaneously charged onto the field in old-fashioned police uniforms. Pussy Riot claimed responsibility for the pitch invasion later in the day.

The group of four were dealt with by the stewards. Dejan Lovren tried taking matters into his own hands by bringing down one of the pitch invaders.

Russian authorities have reportedly charged the pitch invaders for "violation of spectator's rights" and illegally wearing police uniforms. They face a fine of 11,500 rubles (Rs 12,700 approx.) or 160 hours of community service.

However, Pussy Riot seems to have achieved what they had intended to with their latest pitch invasion stunt.

Their social media post, explaining the reason behind Sunday's episode, is drawing a lot of attention. One of the four invaders even had time to do a high-five with French star Kylian Mbappe.

IBTimes India has gathered a list of things that you need to know about Pussy Riot. Check them out below.

1. Pussy Riot is popularly perceived as a punk band. The group is based out of Moscow.
2. The protest-art group, which has been active since 2011, has been vocal against the administration of Putin, whom they consider a dictator.
3. They have also rallied support for feminism and LGBT rights in the conservative European nation.
4. Pussy Riot gained a lot of global traction for the first time in 2012 when they came up with a "punk prayer" inside Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow.
5. The performance was intended to protest against the mutually beneficial relationship between the church and the state, according to New Yorker.
6. In the aftermath of the punk prayer, two of their founding members were sentenced to 21 months in jail.
7. Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, the two founding members, protested against the government, demanding a 'free Russia' during a concert in New York in the lead up to 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
8. American pop icon Madonna, who shared the stage with Alyokhina and Nadezhda, lauded the courage of the courage of the women during the concert.
9. Pussy Riot revealed the motive of their latest act — the pitch invasion through the social media post.

The group, as it turned out, were protesting against the Putin government over the ever-increasing list of political prisoners, which include the ones who express their views on social media.

Citing Russian poet, Dmitri Prigov's image of "heavenly policeman" to highlight the real-life situation in Russia, Pussy Riot put forward their demands, which have been listed below.

• Free all political prisoners.
• Stop jailing people for social-media "likes."
• Stop illegal arrests at protests.
• Allow political competition.
• Stop fabricating criminal cases and putting people in jail for no reason.
• Turn the earthly policeman into a Heavenly Policeman.