Pussy Riot on the danger posed by Donald Trump: We laughed when Putin came to power, too

A Pussy Riot member is urging the US to start taking Donald Trump seriously, warning Russia used to joke about Vladimir Putin, too.

The billionaire's campaign rhetoric and increasingly controversial claims have only improved his ratings and he continues to poll as the frontrunner in the GOP Presidential nominee race nationally.

Maria Alekhina told the Huffington Post she was one of many people who dismissed Putin’s first term in office and joked about his rise to power. Five years later, she was one of two Pussy Riot members imprisoned for 21 months on charges of “hooliganism” for a protest performance in the Russian Orthadox Church.

Any voters hoping to have their own version of Putin should simply vote for Trump, according to Alekhina - a claim he would likely consider a compliment. The two have exchanged flattering comments in recent days, with Trump openly admiring his leadership’s skills and ability to “command respect” from Russian citizens. Putin has been equally complimentary about Trump, praising him as a "flamboyant and outstanding man”.

Trump’s Twitter feed is often hard to distinguish from parody and his comments create stacks of material for comedians globally, but Alekhina warns Trump is not someone to laugh at.

"When Putin came to his first term or second term, nobody [in Russia] actually thought that this is serious," she said. "Everybody was joking about it. And nobody could imagine that after five, six years, we would have a war in Ukraine, annexation of Crimea, and these problems in Syria.

"Everybody [is] joking about Donald Trump now, but it's a very short way from joke to sad reality when you have a really crazy president speaking about breaking every moral and logic norm. So I hope that he will not be president. That's very simple."