Pussy Riot whipped by militia during Sochi protest

Russia"s punk protest group Pussy Riot were whipped by militia after trying to perform in Sochi.

Footage shows five women and one man – wearing signature ski masks and brightly-coloured clothing – being attacked by a group of Cossacks – effectively an auxiliary police force – and other security officials.

One militiaman appeared to use peppery spray, another whipped the singers, while others ripped off their masks and threw a guitar in the bin.

During the three-minute incident, which took place under a sign advertising the Winter Olympics, group member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova was struck with a whip as she lay on the ground.

Whipped ... Members of the punk group Pussy Riot, including Nadezhda Tolokonnikova in the blue balaclava and Maria Alekhina in the pink balaclava, are attacked by Cossack militia in Sochi, Russia Source: AP

Attacked ... A russian security officer attacks Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and a photographer as she and fellow members of the punk group Pussy Riot, including Maria Alekhina, left, stage a protest performance in Sochi, Russia. Source: AP

Brawl ... A member of the punk group Pussy Riot lies on the ground as the group are attacked by Cossack militia in Sochi, Russia. Source: AP

Police later arrived on the scene but no arrests were made.

Pussy Riot, a performance-art collective involving a loose membership of feminists who edit their actions into music videos, have become an inteational flash-point for those who contend Vladimir Putin"s govement has exceeded its authority, particularly restricting human and gay rights.

The group gained inteational attention in 2012 after barging into Moscow"s main cathedral and performing a ‘punk prayer" in which they entreated the Virgin Mary to save Russia from Mr Putin, who was on the verge of retuing to the Russian presidency for a third term.

Two members of the group, Ms Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina, were sentenced to two years in prison, but were released in December under an amnesty bill seen as a Kremlin effort to assuage critics before the Olympics.

On Tuesday, two members of the group were briefly detained in Sochi, but not arrested.