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Russian security forces attack Pussy Riot members
Sochi Olympics Pussy  Heal
Members of the punk group Pussy Riot, including Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, center left, and Maria Alekhina, left, perform next to the Olympic rings in Sochi, Russia, on Wednesday. - photo by Associated Press
SOCHI — Cossack militia attacked Russia's Pussy Riot punk group with horsewhips on Wednesday as the artists — who have feuded with Vladimir Putin's government for years — tried to perform under a sign advertising the Sochi Olympics. The group has resurfaced as a thorn for Russian authorities this week for the first time in nearly two years, just as Putin had been using the Winter Games to burnish his image at home and charm critics abroad with the most expensive Olympics ever. Six group members — five women and one man — donned their signature ski masks in downtown Sochi and were pulling out a guitar and microphone as at least 10 Cossacks and other security officials moved in.