Pussy Riot founder recounts 'spy novel' escape from Russia

A founding member of Pussy Riot, the Russian feminist punk band famous for protesting President Vladimir Putin, has fled Russia disguised as a food delivery worker after being placed on the Kremlin’s wanted list.

Maria Alyokhina, 33, was under house arrest for political activism when authorities converted the rest of her sentence to 21 days in a penal colony. She decided to leave Russia after her release, disguising herself in a bright green hooded coat and delivery backpack to evade Moscow police.

“I was happy that I made it, because it was an unpredictable and big slap in the face [of] the Russian authorities,” Alyokhina told The New York Times from an apartment in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.

“I still don’t understand completely what I’ve done.”

Pussy Riot gained international attention when five members, including Alyokhina, staged a flashmob-style “punk prayer” inside Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior on Feb. 2012, which Russian Orthodox clergy deemed “sacrilegious.” They were later arrested and sentenced to two years in prison, riling human rights groups like Amnesty International.

The band has since grown to about a dozen, who continued to be arrested for guerilla performances supporting free speech, feminism and LGBT rights in opposition to the Kremlin and the Russian Orthodox Church.

For her escape, Alyokhina left behind her phone to avoid being tracked and got a ride from a friend to Russia’ border with Belarus. She was rejected multiple times using her Russian I.D. because she had been placed on a wanted list by Russian authorities.

An Icelandic performance artist convinced an unnamed European country to issue Alyokhina documents that gave her the same status as an E.U. citizen and got them smuggled across the Belarusian border for her third try. It worked, and she proceeded to board a train to Lithuania.

“A lot of magic happened last week,” Alyokhina said. “It sounds like a spy novel.”

She added the fact she was able to get out of Russia and Belarus reflected the chaotic state of domestic affairs at home.

Alyokhina’s girlfriend, Lucy Shtein, fled last month also disguised as a courier. The couple and other Pussy Riot members now join the tens of thousands of Russians who have fled their homeland.

Alyokhina was most recently recuperating in Iceland. She plans to go on tour with her band to raise money for Ukraine, starting with a concert on Wednesday in Berlin, Germany.