Overview
- Pussy Riot announced their debut album CYKA and released the lead single "Candy Dopamine" featuring Avenged Sevenfold on June 1.
- CYKA is due to arrive on June 12 and its title track lists Vladimir Putin as a credited contributor, a gesture the band has presented ambiguously.
- Footage from the group's Venice Biennale protest has been issued as the music video for the album track "DISOBEY," tying the record directly to a high-profile stunt.
- Founder Nadya Tolokonnikova, who lives in exile after Russia labeled Pussy Riot an extremist group in 2025 and who has faced recent legal actions, publicly challenged Putin to a cage match while promoting the release.
- The album compiles 14 years of the group's activism into collaborations with artists such as B‑Real and Salem Ilese and raises the stakes for organizers and venues because of ongoing Russian legal pressure on the collective.