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Former Pussy Riot Member Says She Was Recruited by Russian Security Service to Spy on Dissident Artists
Rita Flores says she was forced to gather intelligence on artists and activists and was offered 3 million rubles for a plot against Pyotr Verzilov.
- Former Pussy Riot member Rita Flores revealed she was coerced into working for the FSB for three years, operating under the codename "Harley" to gather information on dissidents before fleeing Russia earlier this month.
- Following a February 2023 raid on her Moscow apartment, officers coerced Flores into signing a cooperation agreement, threatening her with criminal prosecution and the murder of her relatives, warning she would "disappear without trace" if she refused.
- Flores's primary job involved compiling a "report" on dissidents for further "investigation," though she sabotaged assignments for two years by faking feuds with targets like artists Philippenzo and Pavel Krisevich while receiving 50,000 rubles monthly.
- Refusing to lure Pyotr Verzilov to a cafe in Serbia for a kidnapping, Flores sought help from lawyer Dmitry Zakhvatov to "delay" the plot and flee Russia with assistance from exiled businessman Leonid Nevzlin.
- Pussy Riot was declared an extremist organization by the Kremlin last year; The Moscow Times noted it could not independently verify claims made by Flores regarding the FSB operations or the assassination plot.
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48 Articles
48 Articles
According to Rita Flores, she was forced to work for the Russian secret service through threats and was later involved in an assassination plot.
·Budapest, Hungary
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Margarita Konovalova, who became known as Rita Flores in the Russian punk collective Pussy Riot, revealed that the Russian Federal Security Service threatened to kill her family and make her "disappear" if she did not agree to monitor and denounce other artists.
·Paço de Arcos, Portugal
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Rita Flores says that Ruska opisuje nátlak FSB a údajnú prípravu vraždy.
·Bratislava, Slovakia
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Rita Flores, a former member of the Russian group Pussy Riot, claims that in early 2023, members of the Russian FSB forced her to cooperate with them by threatening her with criminal prosecution and retaliation.
·Belgrade, Serbia
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Total News Sources48
Leaning Left19Leaning Right6Center6Last UpdatedBias Distribution61% Left
Bias Distribution
- 61% of the sources lean Left
61% Left
L 61%
C 20%
R 19%
Factuality
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