Rita Flores, a former member of the Pussy Riot collective, says Russia's FSB security service blackmailed and threatened her into informing on fellow activists over three years before she fled the country.
Key facts
- Rita Flores is a 29-year-old Russian artist, activist and former Pussy Riot member.
- She says the FSB used blackmail and death threats to secure her cooperation.
- Flores describes being handled by the FSB for three years.
- She says tasks included informing on activists and helping with a plot to kidnap and murder a Kremlin enemy.
- Flores fled Russia last month and broke off the cooperation.
- She gave her account in an exclusive interview with the Guardian.
A former member of the Russian protest collective Pussy Riot has described how she says she was coerced by Russia’s FSB security service into informing on fellow activists over a period of three years, according to the Guardian.
In what the Guardian described as her first media interview since fleeing Russia, Rita Flores, a 29-year-old artist and activist, said her recruitment began with blackmail and death threats aimed at securing her cooperation.
Flores told the newspaper that once she had been recruited, she was assigned a series of tasks that she said grew steadily more sinister. These included informing on fellow activists and eliciting personal information from protest-minded artists.
According to her account, the demands eventually escalated to helping with a plot to kidnap and murder a person she described as an enemy of the Kremlin.
Flores said she only broke off the cooperation when she left Russia last month. She attributed her earlier compliance to the pressure she was placed under, telling the Guardian that her fear was too great.
The Guardian published the account as an exclusive interview detailing what it described as three years of Flores being run by FSB officers.
Why it matters
The account offers a first-person description of how Russia's security services allegedly pressure activists into becoming informants, illustrating the risks faced by dissidents inside the country. It also underscores the lengths to which state actors are said to go in targeting perceived enemies of the Kremlin.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Rita Flores?
According to the Guardian, Rita Flores is a 29-year-old Russian artist, activist and former member of the Pussy Riot collective who says she was recruited and handled by the FSB for three years.
How does she say the FSB recruited her?
Flores told the Guardian that the FSB first used blackmail and death threats to secure her cooperation, then assigned her a series of increasingly sinister tasks.
When did she stop cooperating with the FSB?
Flores says she only broke off the cooperation when she fled Russia last month, according to the Guardian.