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Alleged FSB coercion of Pussy Riot activist

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2026-08-27 13:05 UTC → 2026-08-28 17:10 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Margarita Konovalova, known as Rita Flores and a former member of the Pussy Riot collective, has come forward with allegations that she was coerced into serving as an informant for Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) for approximately three years. Flores claims the recruitment began in February 2023 following an FSB raid on her Moscow apartment. She alleges that agents threatened her with criminal prosecution for social media posts concerning the Bucha massacre and made threats against her family members. Operating under the codename ‘Harley,’ she reportedly monitored contemporary artists and political activists, including fellow Pussy Riot member Maria Alyokhina and street artist Philipp Kozlov. New details indicate that Flores received an initial payment of 30,000 rubles, followed by monthly payments of 50,000 rubles between early 2024 and June 2024. Flores stated she attempted to sabotage her assignments by feigning conflicts with her targets to delay arrests or limit the information provided to the FSB. She also alleged that in the summer of 2025, the FSB attempted to involve her in a plot to kidnap and murder former Pussy Riot member and Mediazona publisher Pyotr Verzilov by luring him to a cafe in Serbia. Flores claims she refused a 3-million-ruble offer to participate in the operation and has since fled Russia to go public with her account.

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