Edward Snowden Receives Russian Citizenship
President Vladimir Putin granted Russian citizenship to Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who leaked secret information exposing the U.S. government’s surveillance of American citizens. Snowden applied for dual US-Russia citizenship in 2020, when he became a permanent resident of the country. He sought refuge there in 2013, after releasing to journalists thousands of classified documents exposing how the NSA collected personal information from U.S. citizens. The whistleblower said the move is a way to make traveling easier since he and his American wife, Lindsay Mi...