US whistleblower Snowden gets Russian citizenship Snowden has been living in Russia since 2013, where he was granted political asylum. America is constantly seeking his extradition.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has granted Russian citizenship to American whistleblower Edward Snowden. A decree signed by Putin listed the names of 75 foreign nationals who are now Russians, including 39-year-olds.

The former Secret Service agent has been living in Russia since 2013. He had earlier fled the US to avoid prosecution. He promoted mass espionage on e-mail, telephone calls and Internet activities by the US Secret Services in the name of national security, and published secret documents. America is constantly seeking his extradition. The US State Department said it was not aware of any changes to Snowden’s citizenship. Nothing has changed in Washington’s position towards the former US intelligence officer.

Snowden also wants to remain American

To avoid being arrested for spying in the US, Snowden fled to Moscow via Hong Kong, where he found political asylum. He was granted permanent residence in Russia in 2020. He said at the time that he wanted to apply for Russian citizenship but did not want to give up his US citizenship. Russia eased its strict citizenship laws a few years ago and now allows dual citizenship.

Snowden’s lawyer, Anatoly Kutcherena, told Russia’s state news agency Riya Novosti that Snowden’s wife, Lindsay Mills, would also apply for Russian citizenship. His daughter already has a Russian passport as she was born in Russia. According to Kutcherena, Snowden is not one of them Partial mobilization announced by Putin influenced. He does not belong to the category of civilians who are drafted because they have no experience in the Russian army.