Former Pussy Riot member says she was coerced by the FSB — The Guardian
In Russia, former Pussy Riot member Rita Flores said that she cooperated with the FSB of the aggressor state for about three years after threats against her and her mother. At the end of August, she left Russia and publicly spoke about it in a video conversation with lawyer Dmitry Zakhvatov. The Guardian reports on her testimony.
Flores, also known as Margarita Konovalova, has been associated with Pussy Riot since 2020. According to her, she was repeatedly detained over provocative art actions, and after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, she was subjected to surveillance and searches.
Threats after a search
Flores claims that in February 2023, after one of the searches, two men who identified themselves as FSB officers remained in her home and demanded that she sign cooperation documents. They allegedly threatened to open a criminal case under wartime censorship laws over her Instagram post criticizing killings by Russian forces in Ukraine. She said the men also stated that they could arrange the murder of her mother.
After signing the documents, the activist said, she received a one-time payment of 30,000–40,000 rubles. Her first tasks allegedly involved gathering information about opposition-minded artists and passing the data to handlers. Flores said she informed about 20 people about her recruitment but tried to distance herself from members of the artistic community about whom she was supposed to collect information.
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The Guardian notes that it was unable to independently verify the details of Flores's account. At the same time, the publication points to numerous cases of FSB infiltration of opposition groups in recent years.
Claim of a kidnapping plan
Flores claims that in May 2026, her handlers began asking about activist Pyotr Verzilov, who lives in Ukraine and fights against Russia as part of the Ukrainian army. They allegedly demanded that she find out his address and later proposed using her longstanding acquaintance with him to arrange a meeting in Serbia.
Flores said that, according to her handlers' plan, Verzilov was to be kidnapped and killed by FSB officers waiting in Serbia. She said she was paid an additional 50,000 rubles per month for assistance in this matter. The activist claims that she was looking for a way to leave Russia and planned her departure together with Zakhvatov.
After her escape, Zakhvatov announced a secure communication line for people in similar situations. Flores said she wants to help others leave the country and considers the recruitment of people from activist circles to be a mass phenomenon.
