A former Russian artist and activist reveals in her first interview since fleeing the country how she was coerced into working with the FSB over three years, detailing a descent from blackmail and threats to increasingly dangerous assignments—including spying on fellow dissidents, extracting information from creative figures with protest ties, and allegedly assisting in a plot targeting a Kremlin critic. The account offers a rare firsthand look at the tactics used by Russia’s security services to recruit and control individuals, culminating in her eventual escape after refusing further cooperation. Her testimony sheds light on the pressures faced by activists in Russia and the lengths to which state agencies may go to suppress opposition.
Exclusive: In her first media interview since fleeing Russia, Rita Flores describes her three years of being run by the FSBFirst came the blackmail and death threats to secure cooperation, then came a series of tasks, each more sinister than the last: to inform on fellow activists, to elicit personal information from protest-minded artists and – eventually – to help with a plot to kidnap and murder a Kremlin enemy.That is how Rita Flores, a 29-year-old Russian artist, activist and former member of the Pussy Riot collective, described her recruitment and three-year handling by officers from Russia’s FSB security service, a cooperation she only broke when she fled the country last month. Continue reading...
