Two members of the anti-Kremlin punk activist collective Pussy Riot have revealed the daring way they evaded police restrictions and surveillance to leave Russia.
Lucy Shtein and Maria “Masha” Alyokhina, who are a couple, tricked officers surrounding Shtein’s Moscow apartment by donning food delivery worker disguises. They managed to escape the country amid a heightened crackdown on anti-Putin sentiment as the Russian president’s invasion of Ukraine falters on.
“It was really convenient that delivery couriers have such big bags. I even managed to put my beloved Mr. Rat in the bag,” Shtein, who left Russia in March, told The Guardian newspaper. Mr. Rat is her pet rat.
“We have become so used to delivery couriers roaming Moscow, so it was a foolproof way to escape,” she added.
Alyokjina had initially planned to stay in Russia but followed her girlfriend out of the country last week. They have since reunited in Lithuania.
Alyokjina detailed her dangerous escape to CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Wednesday, recalling staying at safe houses and her multiple attempts at crossing the Belarus-Lithuania border.
Watch the interview here:
