Pussy Riot’s Maria Alyokhina escapes Vladimir Putin’s Russia 'dressed as a food courier'

The lead singer of Russian punk band Pussy Riot has fled the country disguised as food courier – in an escape she likened to a "spy novel".

Maria Alyokhina, who was under house arrest, was facing a sentence in a penal colony under harsh laws banning criticism of warmongering Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Remarkably, the singer was able to evade police in Moscow, disguising herself as a food courier and leaving behind her mobile phone as a decoy.