>> rose: welcome to the program. tonight, five courageous women, two from pussy riot. they are nadezhda tolokonnikova, and maria alyokhina. and the writer masha gressen. two are from ukraine yulia marushevska and ruslana marushevska. >> anything can help. i don't know. we can't guarantee anything. we live a country that can do away with a person without really thinking much about it. >> but we don't want to be-- putin is a person who built his power on the power of fear, and he supports his position based on the power of fear. and he's using fear, and so now, any attempts to intimidate us using a variety of means, those

attempts do not have any result because we don't want to operate in this system. >> i grew up in a family with always respected traditions, and i always knew that i will spend my life in ukraine. i didn't think to live in another country, never. but after this protest, i saw the people, i-- i saw the country i dreamed to have, i dreamed to build, and that gave me even bigger belief in our prosperous future. >> when i was on the stage, my friend told me, snipers are looking for you. be careful. leave stage right now i said, no, i never leave stage. so it was risk. i had to really, really dangerous message. i ask before for sanction,

yanukovych for his team, and i asked for sanction for putin, and putin's teem p team. it's really dangerous, you know, to say that, but i-- i understand why i do that. i do that for my country. i never afraid. >> rose: never afraid? >> never afraid. believe me. >> rose: five courageous women when we return. >> there's a saying around here: you stand behind what you say. around here, we don't make excuses, we make commitments. and when you can't live up to them, you own up and make it right. some people think the kind of accountability that thrives on

so many streets in this country has gone missing in the places where it's needed most. but i know you'll still find it, when you know where to look. captioning sponsored by rose communications from our studios in new york city, this is charlie rose. >> rose: on february 21, 2012, an art group staged an anti-putin protest at a cathedral in moscow. two were sentenced to two years in a russian penal colony. their trial captured the world's attention, and changed the way much of the world views russia.

the two women were released from prison in december and became political activists. joining me are nadezhda tolokonnikova, and maria alyokhina. also here with us is masha gressen. she is a journalist and author whose recent book tells their story and their impact. i am pleased to have them here on this broadcast. let me begin with you, masha. tell me what impact you think these two by their protest, by their imprisonment, by their release have achieved in russia. >> well, that's a difficult question, actually, what impact they have achieved in russia, because the option of achieving something through protest in russia is extremely limited. russia is a country living through crackdown. russia is a country in which the media have been controlled by the state for half a generation. so desp that, nadezhda and masha managed to stage a

performance that shed a light on russia's evolution today, on russia's slide back into the middle ages, and the performance began when they were going sobotka neederal and ended with their articulate and brave closing statements in court six months later. >> rose: what did you think you were doing when you took on vladimir putin? >> ( translated ): we wanted a new future for ourselves and we were using the kinds of methods that we were able to use. regrettably, russia is a country where we don't have an opportunity to go and officially be part of politics, and so we and some other people of our generation are choosing a different path, a path through art as a path that is a genius path for humanity that could magnify your voice 1,000 times. and we continue to act, to give example how you can be free from fear of putin, even if you're

weak. and we're completely convicted that our strength is in our weakness. and our speech in court only demonstrates that our strength is in our weakness. >> ( translated ): and, indeed, it is a very christian story, as you can see an example of christ himself, that weakness can give birth to the strongest religion in the world. and during the court proceedings, we wanted to show that if i can sacrifice, if not yourself, at least two years of your life, it is worth the price, the freedom worth that price, and the physical freedom and our physical incarceration has nothing to do with true

freedom for which people are fighting for, for which people-- during revolutions and under political sorts of changes. >> rose: you mentioned christ. how much did religion have to do with this? >> ( translated ): very direct. religion was born from christ. if you take christ out of christianity, christianity would disappear. church would disappear, and this idea would be nothing without christ. because christ is the person that showed, through his entire life, through his very existence, that sacrifice is possible. that sacrifice for love and for god. >> let me just interject. the protest against against the symbioseis of church and state in russia. >> rose: meaning the symbioseis of church and state in what way? >> well, putin was two weeks away from claiming reelection to his third term as president.

he had drafted the patriotac of the orthodox russian church. they were comparing him to god. parish priests were forbidding parishioners to go to protests. so pussy riot went into church to shine a light on the unhealthy relationship between church and state, and the misuse of religion, and that continued through the trial, which could be considered a witch trial. there are witnesses who testified to their being possessed. >> rose: that they were possessed? >> that they were possessed. >> rose: when you heard all that testimony in court, what did you say to yourself? >> ( translated ): you know, it was very interesting, if you step back from this a little bit and rise above it a little bit, you can see this protest as a performance, because it was very difficult to really imagine how in the 21st century anyone can be judged by 13th century laws. and often, in our court, we

heard questions, you know, do we believe in god?" or whether god is as real as moscow subway. and i believe that theological discussions are really-- shouldn't be happening in court. but the fact that these discussions did happen, only shows the absurdity of putin's order, and that it wasn't really a true court, but just another propaganda of the government machine. >> rose: why did you choose the name pussy riot? >> ( translated ): bright. bold. >> rose: bright and bold. >> ( translated ): it's bold. yes. because, also, because we wanted to kind of feel more freed from maybe some of the limitations these words can be put-- can be putting in our shame.

not just on us, but the government, and government officials, they're now pronouncing the words with great pleasure. >> rose: so you knew-- yes? >> ( translated ): and, serious likly, yes, guilt is a y strong influence on us, and it's just a paraphrasing of this movement. we wanted to do something like that in russia, and at some point, we realized that something like that probably is very unlikely, and so we decided to create it with our own hand and we did it. >> rose: so you get sentenced to prison. did you expect that when you were sitting in that court? >> ( translated ): no. when we were arrested, we were upon-- we were very clear that we would spend a few years in prison because our-- because the police and the investigators told us that we had to admit our guilt, and told us we must

refuse to protest against putin and then they will let us go. but if we continue to persist, then we will receive up to three years in prison. we got two, and i believe in the support of the americans have given to us and we are very grateful to them for it. and the fact our third participants released from court is absolutely due to the fact that we had so much support from all of those people and heads of states that supported us and demanded that putin release us. it is the kind of compromise that our government was prepared to go. >> rose: were you mistreated in prison? >> ( translated ): it's not that we were mistreated or not. the russian prison system is really built on the gulags analogy. when gulag first was created,

everything continues. the stalin's heritage. we lived through difficult times and horrific times, but compared to germany and russia in the concentration camps, the government is really doing everything to prevent the society to realize what's going on. and it is an old system aimed at suppress, human spirit. it happens to everyone. nob is singled out for this kind of oppression. everybody is subject to it. so right now -- >> i hear you. >> we are speaking for human rights of prisoners, and it's a very difficult task, everywhere ambitious goal, and we hope to do it. >> ( translated ): as far as sort of ability of people to reflect on the past and the position of our government and the mass media is such that stalin is not just simply a

mistake. it is now for some a point of pride, and when i was in prison, i watched how in various programs, where new monuments are opened, not only honoring people of stalin's generation, but also young people, new pioneers are being raised and brought up, and they are not there to comprehend. they want to go back to the old ways and restore the soviet union. and we believe that know-- we have a heroic tradition of dissidence, which has almost been forgotten by now. >> rose: right. >> and those are the people that sacrifice their lives,un, that you fight with the soifiet-- soviet regime, and disdance must be in our government.

>> rose: they see themselves in the proud tradition of others who suffered in the gulag. >> i think they're a little too modest to say that but i think they are in the proud tradition of our era. >> rose: speaking proof to power. >> absolutely. they are individual actors acting on behalf of other individual actors who are brings attention to people no one would hear about if it weren't for the voice they have built for themselves, the voice of moral authority they have received after spending two years in prison. i should also say they became prisoners' rights activists when concentrated. maria was a jailhouse lawyer, constantly documenting all the violations happening in the penal colony. and nadezhda wrote an amazing letter published all over the world in many languages that i think was the most powerful writing about russian prisons in years. >> rose: what did you say? >> ( translated ): it was the voice of all of those people who sat with me in prison because

day after day, the situation was only worsening. and we don't have an ability to protest in female camps. in the men's camps, they can notify the administration of any violations. in the female, the women are completely subjugated. they must work 16 hours a day. they are refused meals. they are denied personal hygiene. they can be put outside and be kept outside 10, 12 hours, sometimes subpoena-- even days. and in the isolation it's very cold, and women get sick because they have to spend time there. and we must remember that many of them maybe already have serious diseases, such as aids, and they're not receiving proper treatment. i wrote about this. and i felt a lot of pressure from the administration that did

not like this kind of truth to be told, and they tried to suppress any kind of truth from coming out. and this truth does not leave the walls of the colony, because as soon as someone is trying to do this, he or she is labeled as the enemy, and all of the other prisoners are turned against them. and the administration is trying to make everyone else believe that whoever is speaking the truth, they will also-- everybody-- will be denied whatever small, little benefits that they used to have. >> rose: and you want to be the voice of those people as best you can in your writing or in what you say or how you protest? >> ( translated ): yes. that's what we're trying to do right now. last time when we were here on the stage, we read the last

words of the prisoners of the square, which have. >> -- who have been sentenced to two and a half to four years, and in their case there is no component other than political. there is no political protest like our case, and they went out and froafted on the square, just some prandom people, some of them for the first time attending a demonstration. and now they are behind bars for two years, and they will have to spend some time in the colony. also, several people are expecting sentencing. other participants of the protests, and they department do anything. and the tragedy, really, is because they as political prisoners are completely unknown, and nobody knows those who are in colonies are taking

upon themselves the courage. i mean, it really takes a lot of courage. nobody is going to call to you a studio to talk about it. nobody will notice you if you protest, but it may cost you your life, but they do it. they fight for themselves. and we want to help them. we want to give them legal aid. we want to publish their texts, pictures, everything that can help the world to learn that these people exist, and that they're unique and wonderful. many journalists, including western journalists, said that putin's olympic games, even though it wasn't bad, but i would like to note that the time when when are writing these words in colony under guard, somebody is fighting for

improving the environment in the region where the olympic games were taking place in sochi. and this purpose is now convicted to three years, only because he stood by-- next to a fence of the governor of the region. he didn't paint anything on the wall, but he is charged with vandalism. and he has been sentenced to three years. he was just standing there next to that i fence-- >> this is-- the cynicism of the putin administration. on the day the former oil tycoon was released to prison, the other was sentenced to three years in prison. >> rose: for standing by does that meano that they now have some immunity because they're well known as cortovsky

is. do you have some protection because you have spoken out and your worldwide fame that you have. >> it's open season on them in russia. >> rose: what does it mean? she said it was open season on you in russia. >> ( translated ): yes, it's open season whp we were in prison, we were safer than we are now. as soon as we leave moscow, we are attacked by some toxic liquids sprayed in our eyes or we are beaten. it happened several times over the past three months. and it probably will continue, because the entire internet is full of calls to spray us with acid and destroy us. we are now painted as the enemies of the people. and there's a petition that demands to deprive us of russian

citizenship because we promote anti-russian prop gappedda because we disagree with this, though, because we are trying to reform corrupt, political order. and we-- and this desire is pro-russia, not against russia. but the propaganda is over the top, especially since putin annexed crimea, he needed 10 times more propaganda. now propaganda is completely out of control, very bold, and disconnected with reality. >> in the crimea during the period before the referendum, there were signs all over the place saying that nazism, swastika symbols, or russia. so free ukraine was represented as hitler's germany of the 1930s.

>> the swastika was on a map of the united states. the billboard said ukraine either goes towards the united states with the swastika, or goes towards russia. that was the the choice. >> rose: do you fear for your life? >> anything can happen. i tonight know. we can't guarantee anything. we live in a country that can do away with a person without really thinking much about it. but we don't want to be netted by putin. this is a person that built his power on the power of fear, and he supports his position based on the power of fear. and he's using fear. and so now, any attempts to intimidateitous using a variety of means, those attempts do not have any result because we don'ty want to operate in this system. we want to create a new system. a system where the priority is

55en to freedom and truth and they will prevail over fear and they will be the main thing for people. we will to it. i'm absolutely certain of it. it's clear that these two years did not diminish our resolve, our political ideals remain the same, and we, indeed, want to build new, just, and democratic society, together with people that are in russia. there are people who can create normal political system, and we will fight for this. >> rose: and how will you achieve it? >> we will work. >> i think that putin has built a regime that can only self-destruct. eventually, it will, and the question is what will be there when it self-struck thes. what he is doing is destroying the very fabric of society, and the only hope there is are people like nadezhda and maria. they are the people-- the future of the country after putin

leaves. >> rose: they are a voice of the future of russia and in a sense-- >> they are the biggest hope there is. >> rose: they are the biggest hope that russia has. now, why do you say that? >> because the crackdown-- what's really horrible about the political crackdown in russia right now is it is random. it is based on fear. it is abusing the very fabric of society over and over again, and the longer it goes on the worse things will be when putin is finally out of power, and eventually, of course, he will be out of power. so sane people, people who stand up for some sort of vails, people who believe in the future of russia are the only hope the country has, and this is them. >> rose: this is-- you have a heavy weight on your shoulder. >> ( translated ): let's not exaggerate. we talked about the hatred that is trected towards us and incited towards us, but if you come to any meeting of the

opposition, the opposition meeting in-- on the peace march, on march 15, 50,000 people protested for peace between ukraine and russia, you are in a different russia when you are there. you see the russia of the future already present in the faces of the people that are around you, people who love you, people who live for the freedom. 00 who are prepared to fight for it again and again. these are regular people, and many of them are not professional politicians or professional activists. they are completely regular people. they come from other cities. this already exists, but it exists in parallel to whatever is the government is doing. so we're not the only ones. we're not alone. >> rose: you remember the arab spring. it started in tunisia with one man standing up, and it exploded in terms of a protest that swept across the arab world.

is that the possibility here? >> i don't believe in the power of mass protest in russia right now. usly, the crackdown is too far gone. what i do believe in is the regime is bound eventually to self-struck the. nothing lasts forever. >> rose: how long is forever? >> we don't know. it's a black box. he has succeeded in building a black box of a regime so by definition we can't know what is going on inside. will it take a year or will it take 20 years? we have no idea. but something will be there when it's gone. >> rose: you agree with that? >> ( translated ): yes, but, you see, the regime that seems so indestructible now, it is based on the prices of poil. and if something happens to the price ofile and it falls, then it will be much more difficult for him to prop up financially the people that support his regime. and so, over the past few years, while putin was at the helm, the

nonoil-related sector has been in decline, in rapid decline. and it seems that this tendency will continue because there doesn't seem to be request desire on the part of the government to create any-- prop up any other sectors of the economy. so everything is controlled by corporations that have connections with government, that are owned by putin's cronies, and buddies. it is unhealthy situation. and our market is not growing. it cannot grow under these circumstances. it is unstable. putin likes upon instability. he always uses this word, but when you are sitting on oil, it is a very unstable, very unsecure position to be. >> rose: when you had the opportunity to be released from prison, were i anxious to leave or did you have some concerns as to how it nieb perceived?

>> ( translated ): you see, we had no ability to make a choice. we couldn't agree or disagree. we were just-- the russian law was imperative. if amnesty is coming and you fall under the amnesty, your things are packed, and the jail doors are opened, and i was put in a black sedan, and transported out. so just as the conviction, we had no choice, we had to go to prison, and the same with the amnesty. just in reverse. we were let out. and it's actually a very contingent example-- i didn't need any political handouts, and i know nadezhda had the same position. his amnesty was a pril handout to us. we have 700,000 prisoners in the russian federation, and amnesty

that was presented through the media as a widespread amnesty, that this was 1,000 people were released, 1,000 people is nothing, absolutely nothing. it is a profanity. and we had no desire to participate in this. be a part of this. >> rose: you've gotten to know them. you've griffen a book about them. explain them. i mean, is this uncommon courage? where does it come from? they said to me a number of times, "we're just regular people who found ourselves..." >> that was part of the reason i wanted to write the book was figure out how women like this come to be, especially at the age of 22 and 23, which is how in prison. and the book contains their detailed personal stories, but i can't tell you i figured out how this happens. i think this is a miracle.

it's like great art is a miracle, and people who feel a personal responsibility for the fate of their country and are willing to go to any length to try to make the future better, that's a miracle, too. >> rose: but that's you. you feel a personal responsibility-- personal, you and you-- for the future of your country, and you're willing to go to any lengths to see it happen. go to prison. >> ( translated ): this is a citizen's position. it's not difficult words to pronounce. we say them. this is citizenship, plain citizenship. >> rose: citizenship. >> ( translated ): the country is unhappy where honesty is viewed as heroics. this is a good quote, yes. it's very good dissident said this. the first book that came out by

vladimir mykovsky, a soviet dissident who really was such a pain in the neck for the authorities, that they tragd him out of prison where he was for the fifth time, and they sent him on the plane away because he-- even though he had 10 years left in prison, and it was one of the first books that i read when i was in detention. it was very difficult for me, those first few days, the spirit of adaptations to the new conditions there. and that book felt to me a great deal it was a unique case where you could see someone devoted his entire life to this war, this invisible war that nobody sees. , that happens on the territory of a prison in facility that is created to-- to forget a person.

and i was inspired by that book. i realized that there were enough people out there who devoted their entire lives to freedom, and they exist. and we are now in a very similar situation. >> rose: that is the world you live in. in. >> ( translated ): the world is wider for the people who are connected with art. i think it's a little bit wider than for the dissidents, in particular. but it is the part that we can call the heart. >> rose: thank you for coming. >> ( translated ): thank you for having us over. >> rose: back in a moment. stay with us. ukrainian authorities claim that russia helped plan attacks that killed more than 100 during february protests against

then-president yanukovych. it was a dangerous time to be seen as a dissenter, but one young graduate student chose to do just that. yulia marushevska became the face of the uprising when a video she made went viral. >> i am the ukrainian, the native of kiev. and now, i am on the central part of my city. i want you to know why thousands of people all over my country are on the streets. there is only one reason-- we want to be free from a dictatorship. >> rose: logging more than seven million views worldwide, i am pleased to have her here this evening. welcome. >> hi, it's an honor for me to be here. >> rose: tell me mao you got involved. what were the circumstancessa that led you to say, "i have to be there?" >> actually, i was there all the time with my family and friends.

we were standing, and i was doing everything i can. i was lunteering and just an ordinary protester, and i'm a business student, and i have practice at my university as a teacher, and i took my students from class and we went to study ukraine there, not in the classroom. when my grandfather asked me the same question, what, are you doing there and why are you there?" it was hard for me to find an answer. i think for all ukrainians, the answer was how can i not be there? for all of us. and you just talked to ruslana and you saw the strong belief. >> rose: everybody in the street had the same feeling.

>> yes, we did, and we do, we still do. >> rose: and what is the goal? >> the goal? >> rose: yes. >> my goal is prosperous, unite, modern ukraine. a home for everyone. for those who speak ukrainian. for those who speak russian. it must be your pine singapore. a modern country, safe for everyone. peaceful for everyone. >> rose: do i respect russia's-- do you respect russia's relationship to ukraine? >> i respect russian people, but i will never respect the humiliation of my country, what is doing the russian government right now, not talking to my government. not-- not respecting us, of as a nation, as a country, and as a state. >> rose: are there misconceptions about ukraine? >> people really are trying to understand but it's

misinformation about ukraine, because, like, russian propaganda is spreading ridiculous thoughts and statements about ukraine, like russian people are beaten on the street which is ridiculous, because kiev is a russian-speaking city. or, like, people from the west of the ukraine want to invade ukraine. what i see is putin is trying to make the image of ukraine as weak, not unite country. but we are not. we are not weak, and we showed that. we won. we will#ráild a new ukraine. we will build this new democracy. >> rose: did you ever for a moment fear they would crush the protest? >>, of course. >> rose: everyone moment? >> every moment. we-- we lived with a fear, but iwhen you fight, when you stay,

you have to forget about your fear. i told the student at the university that-- the students at the university, the first time you overcome your fear, thathat's an incredible experie. for us, like, normal european, western, people of the world, that's a very special moment. i've never had it before. i had a student and everything was peaceful and normal in my life. and imagine one moment i am staying and, like, 10 near thes-- maybe more-- it's hundreds of black helmets, and then they're moving closer and closer, and in that moment, i felt this fear. like when all your body is telling you run, run away, now. because that's crus. and know-- descrus. and you know that you feel your legs moving ahead, but you're not. you stay.

you stay because here is your friend. here is your dad. here is your brother. here is your country. and you stay and you overcome this fear. you are still scared. you're still afraid, but there exists something which is bigger and that is so inspirational, and i didn't want anyone to feel this fear but i wish everyone to know this feeling of something more and bigger than your own life, than your own small world. >> rose: so you in your life, how has this changed you? >> protests? >> rose: yeah. this viral-- >> like, this protest, they showed me the ukraine of my dream. i grew up nay family upo where e always respected traditions, and i always knew that i will spend

my life in ukraine. i didn't think to live in another country, never. but after this protest ti saw the people i dreamed to be with. i saw the country, i dreamed -- >> you dreamed to have. >> i driemed to have, i dreamed to build. and that gives me-- that gave me an even bigger belief in our prosperous future. >> rose: good luck. >> thank you. >> rose: thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you so much. >> rose: back in a moment. stay with us. >> rose: the annual women in the world summit kicked off in new york recently. one political pop star took center staiblg. ukraine ran singer ri. she sang for the protesters every night. sometimes for 10 hours at a time. for her courageous stance in the

face of violent attacks and threats she received the international women of courage award from the u.s. department of state. i am pleased to have her here and talk about ukraine, and talk about her own life. welcome. >> thank you for those amazing wors. thank you. you give me power with these words. >> rose: you had power when the protests came. tell me what drove you. the emotion. >> i can't explain it. the revolution that happened in 2004, 10 years ago, and a lot of people ask me, "ruslana, hodo you think, do we have changes in our country, in ukraine? do we have resolved after the resolution has happened or not a

lot of guys. a lot of guys-- when we watch that, i also was for one year in ukrainian parliament. and i watched the situation, checked the situation, inside from parliament. , of course, we lost our power of our revolution. we lost our, you know, believing that we have really changed. >> rose: why did you lose it? because of corruption, or what? >> yes, yes, yes. because these guys was wrong for many, many things. it's a long time to explain to you now, but just you believe from my words. and then people asked me, "ruslana, how do you think? do we have any possibility to have revolution again?" i said, "no, i don't think so."

i was wrong. it was not big reason to go, biggest, leave everything. because we had just message, really wrong message from yanukovych, but it was just message. but i think i felt i need to leave everything, not be there, not stay, but also ask everybody join me. go to midan. show to yanukovych that we are power. we want to live like that. we don't want to go back to your side. we don't want to join russia union. it's not about russia people. you have to understand the difference. because we understand that putin changed the prees for gas to ukraine all the time.

it was-- it looks like, you know, he's terrorist for this energy source, for ukraine. we don't have energy independence. we understand it. we want to go to european union. this is our mentality. this is our way for our country, for ukraine. let's join me. let's go to midan, show our power. that's it. and i asked to the people, i asked people everyone day, everyone night. >> rose: to come join you. >> exactly. we started with the students, with the students it was an amazing peace protest, with good memes that ukraine is europe. ukraine is europe. give us a chance, a chance to live better. we sing, dance, have a great

flash bulb with the lights. it was like switch on this light, and everybody in the world will see hoim of how many people here upon during these nights. >> rose: did you meet senator mccain? >> first time i asked him go to the stage. i invite him to the stage for the statement, there midan it was december. it was december. mccain was first, you know, great politician who joined us and supported us. it was important for us, and everybody was happy. >> rose: tell me what you fear and what you hope. >> my fear, if you and a lot of people in the world will

recognize my country for that picture. i don't like it. it was just a few days and awe lot of people was killed for that. but i like when people would recognize our social moment with the people power wthese lights, means lights of freedom. if you join us, reach on your lights of freedom, you will help us to show truth. we have a problem with the anti-ukraine propaganda. it's not just information from putin. putin destroyed image of ukraine. that is why, you know, i am so worried about, and i-- i will do everything to -- >> and you want people to understand what about ukraine? >> we choose peace. we want peace. this is our-- you know, the

knowledge of our country. ukraine, cancel it, weapons. cancel it, usual weapons. we don't want to have a war. it's the plan of putin. for me, most important people recognize ukraine with the three main words-- peace, truth, and whole country." don't destroy my country. that's my message to mutein. don't destroy my country. you don't have any reason, any-- you know, why you do that? i mean, i ask putin, why you do that? for your power? for your money? please stop. >> rose: is it too late for crimea? >> no, no, no, no no. it's bad example to the world if putin changed rules of the security twe can stop him. no, we will do everything.

it's not just about crimea. it's about rule of security. >> rose: you told me last night at dinner that you need an election. and you need a new president because you want to have a strong government, elected by the people, that can be the symbol of the new ukraine, yes? oh! good question. putin have, you remember i told you, putin has just two months to destroy descroi ucrien. through these next months. we have election now because because-- yanukovych, and thennia yanukovych scr we were surprised about that. nobody understands what

happened. >> rose: did you want him to go? >> now, about, about geens putin, but also we want to have legal president, the new one, because we don't have it. we have technically a government now, a new one, but we node to have elections. putin understands it, and putin will try to destroy this election. >> rose: who somebody should be the new president of the uyien? >> that's an interesting question, a very interest, question. i can say to you right now we don't have rail leader. i don't need to do that. but i am personally, hiem waiting story an early leader for ukraine. now we have election and we need tone to have election and the new one. it doesn't plaert.

i support for anyone no matter what. we need it. i'm waiting for really power guys. >> rose: could it abe woman? >> we'll see. i believe for for identification. but it doesn't matter? >> no, my task is music. i'm a musician. i'm a singer. i'm a pinist, i'm a professional conductor. >> rose: in fact you went to school for those things. >> that is why i can do everything through music. i can bring a lot of energy and i request. me country with the music for. >> rose: want watch is your open mission, your nition?

i will try to propose you, join us for our social moment. we called it light freedom. it's very important. it's more than just these words. i organized some project, and asked everybody to join us to help ucrepe for truth, for pregnancy, for independence. we choose taems. let's help ukraine. we can stop putin. we stop these aggressors, we can stop new empire. >> rose: what do you think his goal is? >> i think he wants to show us he's the leader, the first one in the world, he has power, nobody can stop him but he's wrong pup know because power comes from underground, from people power. so i believe for that.

i tonight believe for putin, for his power. >> and if he invades ukraine, ukraine. will fight back. yes, of course, rs, of course. you know why, i daughter midawm, number we have that we have everything, power. that's enough for us. >> rose: power is enough? >> yeah, power is enough. and i also believe midan, we will see one day, whb mibegan will be in russia. >> rose: what do you want from the united states and the west? fl>> most important saiskses, as long as possible, as teen as possible, as much as possible. don't make money with the wiewt-- it's money from war, bad

money. >> rose: stop dealing with thim. no personal relationships. >> yes, yes, you don't, you know, product of something hike that. >> have you been to washington? >>, of course,. >> who did you meet with and talk to. with piedep, with michelle obama, where murphy. a lot of very great politicians who understand what's going on. it's not the problem with ukraine, it's a problem for all of us, and i'm happy to work with these people and understand that everybody try to stop this new war from putin. >> rose: what do you think of

chenshanko? do you think she's part of ukraine's future? >> she's from old time. you know what i mean? i'll not sure that she is from future. she's from the past. hn. >> rose: you need somebody from the future. >> yes, exact plea. >> rose: when you were on stage for 10 hours, you begged police not to the shoot. >> and i sent 500 times i sang our national anthem. >> rose: sang-- you were worried that the police might shoot, yes? >> i knew that. i knew that. somebody hauled me and asked me leave my dad or we will kill, many, many times. >> rose: so many, membership threats, many threats.

>> exactly. and also when i was on the page, my friend told me can the swriew is looking for you, heavy stage right now. so it was risk. i had a dangerous of industrial message, skid for sanctions for yanukovych and his team. and also i asked for state staifngz are for putin, and putin's team. it's really dwris to say that but i understand why i do that. i to that for my country. i am never afraid. >> rose: never afraid joomed never afraid, believe me. >> rose: thank you for coming. >> thank you. >> rose: pleasure to see you again. >> me, too, me, too.

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this is "nightly business report," with tyler mathisen and susie gharib. failure to comply, general motors safina ed fined by its safety regular later for not answering all the questions on the safety recall. what it all means for the automaker. and they're off, alcoa out of the gate with a mixed bag of earnings, but the season is not expected to be strong and too cou that could lead to a bumpy road. and tax deadline, one week to go, if you have not filed your taxes yet. we have a few strategies you can still use to all of your advantages, all this and more for tuesday april 8th. good evening everod