Maria Alyokhina , one of the activists from the Pussy Riot group, fled Russia disguised as a food delivery person to escape the police and the growing persecution by President Vladimir Putin.
In Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, Alyokhina spoke with The New York Times and discussed her escape. “I was glad I managed to do it because it was an unpredictable and powerful farewell [from the Russian authorities],” she said. “I still don’t fully understand what I did.”
Maria Alyokhina spent her entire adult life fighting for Russia to respect its own Constitution and fundamental human rights, such as freedom of expression. She also wrote a memoir, Riot Days , and toured the world with a show based on these principles.
Before her departure, she posted on social media showing her electronic monitoring bracelet from house arrest. The escape comes after Putin suppressed any criticism of his war, and Ukrainian authorities announced that her house arrest would be converted to 21 days of detention in a penal colony.
In recent months, Alyokhina has been detained six times, always on fabricated charges in an attempt to silence her political activism, according to the New York Times . However, Maria's problems began some time ago. The first time she came to the attention of Russian authorities was in 2012, when the band Pussy Riot staged a protest against President Putin at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. She was sentenced to two years in prison, being released in December 2013.
According to her testimony to the New York Times, Alyokhina disguised herself as a food delivery person to escape Moscow police, who were monitoring the apartment of friends where she was staying. To avoid being tracked, she left her cell phone behind, and a friend helped her reach the border with Belarus, and then she arrived in Lithuania a week later.
She said she hopes to be able to return to her country at some point, but says she doesn't know how that will be possible. "If your heart is free, it doesn't matter where you are," says the activist.
