Edward Snowden during an event in Moscow on September 2, 2021 Photo: picture alliance/dpa/TASS
From BZ/dpa
Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin has granted US whistleblower Edward Snowden Russian citizenship.
The 39-year-old’s name is on a list of new citizens and Russians surrendering their passports published by the Kremlin.
Snowden previously revealed after his son’s birth in Russia that he was applying for citizenship to have the same rights as the child born in 2020, who was automatically granted Russian citizenship.
In 2013, Snowden gave journalists documents on spying activities by the US surveillance service NSA and its British counterpart GCHQ. According to his own statements, he wanted to flee via Hong Kong to Ecuador, but ended up stranded at the airport in Moscow after the US government canceled his passport.
Russia granted asylum to Snowden and his wife Lindsay. They applied for Russian citizenship after birth. They didn’t want to risk being separated from their son, the American had said in 2020. They said they did not want to give up their American citizenship at the time.