Pussy Riot says Putin is even worse than the Russian president on 'House of Cards'

Punk rock activists Pussy Riot guest starred as themselves on an early episode of the newest season of "House of Cards," but they were not impressed with how the show's producers portrayed a character based on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In the third episode of season 3, Russian dissidents Nadezhda "Nadya" Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina of Pussy Riot - a feminist punk rock protest group whose 2012 arrest in Moscow for protesting Putin's anti-gay regime drew considerable criticism from the West - are invited to a White House dinner party as guests of honor alongside fictional Russian President Victor Petrov, presumably in an attempt to diffuse tensions.

But the invitation has the opposite effect, as Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina use the opportunity to criticize Petrov in a scathing "toast" before walking out on the party in disgust.

When asked in a recent interview how they thought Petrov measured up to the real Russian president, however, the activists said the character failed to capture Putin's callous nature, according to AFP.

"I think they don't quite understand what a member of the KGB is," Alyokhina, 26, told the Russian opposition magazine New Times. "In the show Petrov is more of a little tsar."

"He is too jolly for Putin, of course," she added.

Though the actor who plays Petrov, Lars Mikkelsen, bears a close resemblance to Putin, Tolokonnikova reportedly insisted that he is too tall. "And his face is too withered. This is an early Putin, before Botox."

Petrov's behavior is also more shameless - he drinks heavily, sings loudly, and kisses Underwood's wife Claire on the lips in front of everyone. Putin may be eccentric and combative, but he is still a public figure who abides by some kind of political decorum, Alyokhina explained.

The show follows the ruthlessly pragmatic and manipulative the Underwoods as they seek to cultivate power and influence. The third season's subplot involving Russia has sparked controversy among those familiar with today's frosty global political climate.

One of Underwood's major initiatives once he takes office as president is to foment peace in the Middle East - a lofty objective which he hopes to achieve by sending US and Russian troops into the Jordan Valley, a buffer between Jordan and the Palestinian West Bank that is currently occupied by Israeli soldiers and has served as a major point of contention in peace talks.

When Underwood asks Petrov (who the show's producers wanted to have the same initials as real-life President Vladimir Putin) to back him up by sending Russian soldiers to the valley, Petrov refuses. Not even a lavish dinner party can change his mind.

"Russia has nothing to gain from peace in the Middle East," he says.

Sounds like something Putin would say.