MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin on Monday granted Russian citizenship to whistleblower Edward Snowden, who exposed massive surveillance by the US National Security Agency and was granted refuge by Moscow.

A presidential decree included Edward Joseph Snowden, born on June 21, 1983, on a list of newly-minted Russian citizens at a time when relations between Washington and Moscow are at historic lows over the conflict in Ukraine.

The fugitive whistleblower Snowden said in Nov 2020 he had applied for Russian citizenship, but that he would aim to keep his US nationality.

The former American intelligence contractor, who revealed in 2013 that the US government was spying on its citizens, has been living in exile in Russia since the revelations.

Moscow several years ago relaxed its strict citizenship laws to allow individuals to hold Russian passports without rejecting their original nationalities.

Snowden’s lawyer Anatoly Kucherena told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti that his wife Lindsay Mills would also now apply for Russian citizenship and that their daughter already had a Russian passport having been born in the country.

Putin announced last week a mobilisation of Russian men to contribute to the army’s fight in Ukraine and Kucherena said that Snowden would not be called up to serve given he had no prior experience in the Russian army.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told news agencies that Snowden had received Russian citizenship as a result of his own request.

Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2022