A former member of Pussy Riot claimed to have collaborated with the FSB for three years
Kyiv • UNN
Rita Flores said that the FSB forced her to spy on activists and prepared her to abduct Pyotr Verzilov. She fled Russia.
Former Pussy Riot member Rita Flores said that she had been cooperating with the FSB since 2023, and that the Russian security service had tried to involve her in the abduction and murder of Pyotr Verzilov. Flores told this to lawyer Dmitry Zakhvatov in an interview published by Port, Meduza reports, according to UNN.
Details
According to Flores, after a search of her apartment on February 17, 2023, two FSB officers forced her to cooperate, threatening her with criminal prosecution, the murder of her relatives, and the activist’s own disappearance.
The security service gave her the operational alias "Harley," took away all her documents except her internal passport, and provided her with a work phone. Flores’s main task was to collect information about artists and political activists, including members of Pussy Riot.
The FSB allegedly prepared an operation against Verzilov
Flores claims that she took part in the "development" of artist Filip Kozlov, performance artist Pavel Krisevich, and Maria Alyokhina. According to her, the FSB later tried to involve her in the abduction and murder of Pyotr Verzilov.
After receiving the assignment concerning Verzilov, Flores contacted lawyer Dmitry Zakhvatov. According to her, together they managed to postpone the operation, after which she fled Russia. Zakhvatov said that Flores contacted him in the summer of 2025, and that they managed to get her out of the country approximately 10 days ago.
Flores said that she spoke about her cooperation with the FSB in order to help other people in similar situations.