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MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has granted Russian citizenship to former U.S. security contractor Edward Snowden, according to a decree signed Monday by Russian leaders.
Snowden is one of 75 foreign citizens listed in the decree to be granted Russian citizenship. The decree has been published on the official government website.
Snowden, a former NSA contractor, has lived in Russia since 2013 as he leaked classified documents detailing government surveillance programs to evade prosecution in the United States.
He was granted Russian permanent residency in 2020, saying at the time that he planned to apply for Russian citizenship without giving up his U.S. citizenship.
Snowden’s lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti that the ex-contractor’s wife, Lindsay Mills, an American, lives with him in Russia. She will also apply for a Russian passport. The couple had a child in December 2020.
Snowden, who has kept a low profile in Russia and occasionally criticized the Russian government’s policies on social media, said in 2019 that he would be willing to return to the United States if he could guarantee a fair trial.
He did not comment on being granted Russian citizenship.
The move comes as Moscow mobilizes reservists for what the Kremlin calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine. In Russia, where nearly everyone is considered a reservist until the age of 65, officials stressed Monday that men with dual citizenship are also eligible for draft enlistment.
However, Snowden’s lawyer, Kucherena, told Interfax that Snowden never served in the Russian armed forces, so he was ineligible to be transferred. Having previous combat or military service experience is considered the main criterion for recruitment.
Documents leaked by Snowden show how the NSA collects vast amounts of data passing through US internet companies. He also revealed details about the U.S. classified intelligence budget and the extent of U.S. surveillance of foreign officials, including leaders of U.S. allies.
Snowden has said he disclosed the information because he believed the U.S. intelligence community had gone too far and wrongly violated civil liberties. He also said he did not believe the administration of former President Barack Obama would take action if he complained to an internal whistleblower.
He has since become a well-known privacy and intelligence speaker, appearing remotely at many events in Russia. But his membership in the intelligence community remains controversial, with current and former officials from both political parties in the United States saying he has endangered global security by exposing important programs.
Snowden decided against the NSA because he used his programming skills to create a repository of classified internal notes about the agency’s global snooping, and as he set up backup systems for agency data, his 2019 “Permanent Records” ” wrote in the book. “
After reading the repository, Snowden said he came to understand the extent to which his government was trampling on civil liberties and became glum, “knowing that all of us have been reduced to children who are forced to live the rest of their lives. life under the supervision of unknown parents.”
Snowden was charged in 2013 with the unauthorized disclosure of U.S. national security and intelligence information and the theft of government property. The Justice Department also sued to prevent Snowden from profiting from his memoirs, saying he violated nondisclosure agreements with intelligence agencies.
Snowden’s acceptance of Russian citizenship is likely to spark more criticism of him, who say he has been silent on issues such as the conflict in Ukraine.
Associated Press writers Nomaan Merchant in Washington and Frank Bajak in Boston contributed to this report.
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