Ex-Pussy Riot Member Says She Was Forced to Spy for Russia’s FSB
A former Pussy Riot member, Rita Flores, says Russia’s FSB forced her to work as an informant for nearly three years after threatening her family and her safety. She claims she was ordered to spy on activists and artists and help lure Pussy Riot figure Pyotr Verzilov into a suspected kidnapping plot before escaping Russia.
Former member of Russian protest group Pussy Riot, Margarita Konovalova, has alleged that she was coerced into working as an informant for Russia’s FSB security service for over two years. Konovalova, who now resides outside Russia, made the disclosure in an interview with Russian outlet Port. According to her, she was recruited after security officers conducted a search of her Moscow apartment in February 2023.
The agents threatened her family and warned her of potential prosecution or disappearance if she refused to cooperate. Konovalova was given the pseudonym "Harley" and assigned the task of gathering information about artists and political activists, including other Pussy Riot members. She stated that the FSB was interested in collecting details about the targets' contacts, routines, and vulnerabilities.
In the summer of the same year, the FSB allegedly approached her to facilitate the luring of Pussy Riot’s unofficial spokesperson, Pyotr Verzilov, to Serbia with a plan to kidnap and kill him. In response, Konovalova sought legal counsel to devise her strategy for escaping Russia. In December last year, a Moscow court labeled Pussy Riot as an "extremist organization" and restricted its activities within the country.
Written by urgent.news from Kyiv Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
