Pussy Riot's latest video compares 'homophobic' Putin to 'ayatollah in Iran'

Four members of the feminist Russian punk band Pussy Riot danced on an oil pipeline, comparing President Vladimir Putin to an 'ayatollah in Iran' and attacking his allies in Russia's rich energy sector.

The women wore garish masks, tights and short dresses in a new video posted on YouTube lambasting Putin and Russian energy industry.

In their first performance in almost a year, the feminists also accused Putin of being homophobic after the passage of what is widely seen as anti-gay legislation, the New York Daily News reports.

According to the report, in the video, 'Like in a Red Prison', the band took aim at Putin and how he runs Russia's oil industry. In the video, one of the women is seen pouring what appears to be oil over a large portrait of Igor Sechin, the head of state oil firm Rosneft and a close Putin ally.

The aim of the video is to draw attention to what the band say is Putin's practice of allowing only close allies to share in the vast proceeds generated by the Russian energy industry, the report added.