Anti-Putin Punk Group Nominated For Prestigious Russian Art Award

Pussy Riot members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova (left), Yekaterina Samutsevich (center), and Maria Alyokhina (right) are escorted by police to a court hearing in Moscow on August 8.

The Russian feminist punk group Pussy Riot has been nominated for one of Russia's most prestigious awards in arts, the Kandinsky Prize.

According to the Kandinsky Prize's website, the group was added to the list of candidates to receive the annual Project of the Year award.

Three members of the group -- Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina, and Yekaterina Samutsevich -- are on trial for staging a performance at Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral against President Vladimir Putin's rule in February. A verdict in their case is due on August 17.

The Kandinsky Award was established in 2007.

Leading Russian and international art experts, intellectuals, and businessmen are among the Kandinsky Prize's organizers.

The prize for the Project of the Year is $40,000.

With reporting by "Kommersant"