Rita Flores, a former member of the Russian protest art collective Pussy Riot, said she was recruited by the Federal Security Service (FSB) in February 2023 and worked with the agency for nearly three years. She disclosed this in an interview with lawyer Dmitry Zakhvatov on the YouTube channel Port; The Insider also reported on her account.
Flores, whose real name is Margarita Konovalova, said she was forced into cooperation on February 17, 2023, after a search of her Moscow apartment — at the time, her disappearance was reported. The activist claims she spent several hours at home with two FSB officers who threatened her with criminal prosecution and violence against her and her mother. The FSB gave her the operational pseudonym "Harley," assigned a handler named Ivan, and paid her between 30,000 and 50,000 rubles per month.
Flores said she was tasked with gathering information about people in her circle who were under surveillance by the security services. Among them, she named street artist Filipp Kozlov (Philippenzo), performance artist Pavel Krusevich, and fellow Pussy Riot member Maria Alyokhina. The activist claims she tried to sabotage the work. Lawyer Zakhvatov told The Insider that Flores "tried to dodge in every way," but "there are no victims."
In the summer of 2025, according to Flores, FSB officers proposed she take part in organizing the murder or kidnapping of Pyotr Verzilov, a former publisher of Meduza and a Pussy Riot member with whom she had previously been in a relationship. She was to lure Verzilov to Serbia and arrange a meeting at a cafe, after which he was to be abducted. She was offered between one and three million rubles for her participation.
After receiving this assignment, Flores contacted Zakhvatov. With his help, she persuaded her handlers to postpone its execution, and then left Russia about ten days ago. The method by which she managed to leave was not disclosed. Flores said she decided to publicly speak about her cooperation with the FSB to help people in similar situations.