Born on March 16, 1985 in Lyubertsy, Moscow Region, Russia.
The first band was “Babanana Princess” at the age of 19, vocals and lyrics. (LP “So, let’s go on”)
Then the “Little God”, composer and synth. (LP “wishful thinking”)
“Aliocha” no wave, punk band, drummer.
In 2011 became a member of the Pussy Riot as a drummer, singer and activist.
The first action in which I took part in 2011 was “Putin peed in his pants” on Red Square. After that took part in the action in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour “Virgin Mary, drive Putin away!”. After this action, 3 participants were detained, 2 of whom were sentenced to 2 years in prison. I was hiding in another place, separate from the girls, whom the police captured all together. Then hid in Ukraine. The police never discovered my identity. And I was anonymous for about 8 years, until the statute of limitations expired. Then she revealed her name.
Diana Burkot is a Russia-born, Icelandic musician, composer, performer, interdisciplinary artist, and activist, best known internationally as a member of Pussy Riot since 2011. Her work moves between experimental electronic pop, live performance, and contemporary art, combining raw sonic energy with emotional fragility and poetic imagery.
With Sweat and Blood, Burkot presents her first full solo project, conceptually developed as part of her final MMA degree at the Iceland University of the Arts. Conceived as a multi-faceted yet coherent body of work, the album will be released via Overdrive Records on November 6th 2026.
Rather than reproducing traditional ideas of “heroism” in political art, Sweat and Blood is a research into more horizontal forms of organization that focus on “ordinary people”. There are no explicit slogans or direct statements, yet the work remains deeply political: the lyrics are abstract and image-based, with emotion as the primary channel connecting to the listener.
The album was developed in close collaboration with Icelandic sound designer Ronja Jóhannsdóttir, active in Reykjavík’s underground scene, and Swiss producer, songwriter, and engineer Kurt Uenala (Depeche Mode, Dave Gahan, Moby, The Kills, Woodkid), who handled mixing and mastering. Across the songs, Burkot explores personal and collective trauma, life experiences, and reflections on restriction of freedom and repression, using fragmentary scenes where “ordinary people” reveal both shared conditions and unique, often invisible stories.
Musically, Sweat and Blood emerges from a dark, fairy-tale-like atmosphere, combining soft yet dramatic vocals with breakbeat-driven structures and Serum-based synths reminiscent of witch house, sculpted through detailed digital sound design. The album constantly shifts between physical intensity and sudden ambient or abstract passages, often within a single track, while the voice moves from clarity to heavily processed textures but always preserves a sense of intimacy and emotional presence.
Many songs take the form of character-driven novellas based on real people who are Burkot’s collaborators, but emotionally they are filtered through her own perspective and sensory experience. This continuous movement between energy and restraint creates a feeling of instability in which the listener is never completely at ease.
Burkot’s solo work does not represent a clean break from Pussy Riot; instead, her years as a political activist within the collective form the context for this project and its search for her own voice and individuality as a political artist. Her live performances are known for their intense physical presence, where music, voice, and body merge into an atmosphere in which confrontation and vulnerability coexist.