Russian legal news outlet ‘Mediazona’ kicks off new podcast with episode on underground rap group in high-security prison colony

Mediazona, a media outlet born out of the 2012-2013 Pussy Riot case, covers human rights, legal cases, and prison culture in Russia in unusual detail through up-to-the-minute reports. Now, it has added a podcast, Golos Zony, to its toolkit. The title of the new podcast means “The Voice of the Zone,” a common term for Russian prisons.

The first episode of Golos Zony tells the story of the rap group E.P.K.T., which creates and releases its music in secret from a high-security prison colony in Russia. The podcast’s creator, Pyotr Ruzavin, worked with the celebrity Russian rapper Basta to produce its first episode.

Golos Zony is scheduled to release five episodes in total. It is available on iTunes, Yandex Music, and other platforms.