Rita Flores, a Russian artist and former member of the Pussy Riot collective, has revealed she was coerced into collaborating with Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) for nearly three years. Flores shared her experience in a video discussion with her lawyer, Dmitry Zakhvatov, shortly after fleeing Russia in August.

Flores, also known as Margarita Konovalova, detailed the progression of her forced cooperation, which began with blackmail and death threats. The FSB officers threatened to open a criminal case against her following an Instagram post condemning Russian actions in Ukraine and warned that her mother could be killed if she refused to comply. Under this pressure, Flores agreed to assist the security service and received a one-time payment of 30,000 to 40,000 rubles (approximately $350 to $470).

Initially, her assignments involved gathering intelligence on fellow opposition artists and protesters. Two officers served as her handlers: a senior official she called “the Jacket,” whom she met occasionally, and a junior officer named Ivan, who maintained regular contact. Flores described a climate of intimidation, with repeated threats directed at her and her family, sometimes delivered alongside unsettling attempts at casual friendliness.

As many targeted activists fled Russia, her handlers shifted focus in May 2023 to Pyotr Verzilov, a former Pussy Riot associate now fighting with the Ukrainian army. The FSB officers tasked Flores with collecting information about Verzilov’s whereabouts and attempting to lure him to Serbia under the pretense of a meeting. According to Flores, the intention was for an FSB team to kidnap and kill him there. Ivan reportedly increased her monthly payment to 50,000 rubles to incentivize the operation.

Flores said she began plotting her escape shortly after. She married her partner in September 2023 to create an alibi preventing her from traveling to Serbia alone. With the help of her lawyer, she then devised a plan to flee Russia, a process she described as daunting yet feasible. The exact methods remain undisclosed to protect future escape efforts, but Zakhvatov noted that leaving the country is not as difficult as the FSB portrays.

Since her departure, Flores has reached out to those she informed on to explain her circumstances and expressed a desire to support others in similar situations. Zakhvatov established a secure communication line for individuals under FSB pressure seeking assistance.

Masha Alekhina, another Pussy Riot activist, expressed understanding of Flores’s situation, emphasizing the power of fear to alter behavior. Alekhina noted the positive outcome that no one was harmed or imprisoned as a result of Flores’s actions and welcomed her decision to speak publicly.

While the account provided by Flores cannot be independently verified, it echoes broader reports of FSB infiltration and intimidation of opposition groups amid heightened domestic repression following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.