Putin Gives Former NSA Contractor Edward Snowden Russian Citizenship

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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed a decree granting Russian citizenship to Edward Snowden, a former security consultant who fled the U.S. after leaking highly classified information about the National Security Agency in 2013.

Edward Snowden speaks during an interview in Hong Kong.

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Key Facts

Snowden, who is wanted by U.S. authorities for sharing the information with several U.S. media outlets, was one of 73 foreigners granted citizenship by the Kremlin.

The announcement comes nine years after Snowden fled the U.S. and was granted asylum in Russia after sharing hundreds of highly classified NSA documents to the Guardian and the Washington Post.

Snowden was charged by the Department of Justice in 2013 with violating the Espionage Act, for which he could have faced decades in prison.

Key Background

Snowden’s leaks were among the largest security breaches in U.S. history. While working as a subcontractor at the NSA, Snowden shared documents with the media containing information on several global surveillance programs carried out by the agency. A two-year investigation led by a bipartisan group of lawmakers claimed Snowden’s actions amounted to “the largest and most damaging public release of classified information in U.S. intelligence history,” while refuting Snowden’s claims he acted as a privacy whistleblower. The 2016 House Intelligence Committee report concluded the leak caused significant damage to national security and that the majority of documents leaked were related to military, defense and intelligence programs “of great interest to America’s adversaries” instead of “programs impacting individual privacy interests.” Snowden said in 2020 he planned to apply for Russian citizenship after being granted permanent residency there.

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