Russian punk band Pussy Riot, who were beaten and whipped by local authorities for protesting at the Sochi Winter Olympics earlier this week, were 'looking for conflict', according to a Russian official.
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina, who were released from prison last year following a protest in a Moscow church, were shoved, pushed to the ground and whipped by Cossacks in Sochi.
"The girls came [to Sochi] with the specific aim of provoking conflict," deputy prime minister Dmitry Kozak is reported as saying by AFP.
"They had looked for it for a long time and in the end they succeeded in having a conflict with the local residents," he continued.
Pussy Riot released a music video earlier this week, entitled "Putin Will Teach You How To Love The Motherland", which contains scenes of the attack they endured at the Black Sea resort.
