Edward Snowden, the fugitive American government contractor wanted by the United States for leaking details of the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs, has now been living in Russia for more than three months.
An eyesore to the Washington establishment, with his U.S. passport annulled, yet still retaining his American citizenship, Snowden has been welcomed in Russia as “our American guest.” For some, such as Pavel Durov, the founder of Vkontakte.ru (VK.com), Snowden is even a “personal hero,” even though this leading Russian social network itself has been accused of leaking sensitive user information to Russia’s security agencies in the midst of recent political turmoil.
Snowden, who has been granted a one-year asylum, has also found a guardian and legal agent. Anatoly Kucherena, a prominent Russian lawyer and the chairman of a special council designed to exert public supervision over the Russian police’s activity, has taken him under his wing, helping him in legal and everyday matters alike.
“Officially, he’s my principal and I’m his agent, but, in addition, I provide a number of other services for him,” the lawyer said earlier this week in an exchange with Rossiiskaya Gazeta, the Russian government’s official newspaper.
Kucherena, 53, has been paternalistic to the young American who “has no mom or dad or family” close by to help him out. When asked what brought him into such an unlikely relationship, he said that “it was Snowden who personally contacted me in search of legal advice.”
The first contact occurred this summer when the ex-NSA contractor had to spend time in the transit area of the Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow. According to the Russian lawyer, Snowden sought to address Russian authorities but unfamiliar with Russian law, he found this difficult to accomplish. Kucherena lent him a hand, advising the American to seek temporary asylum for the shortest possible period of one year through the Russian Migration Service directly.
“Basically, he asked me to intervene exactly to explain to him the intricacies of Russian migration legislation,” Kucherena told Rossiiskaya Gazeta.
Still a de jure U.S. citizen, Snowden was sought by the American Embassy in Russia, but Kucherena had the officials keep their distance from his protégé
“Edward would refuse to meet them, and I told them that he was not under arrest and no charges had been brought against him in the Russian Federation. Therefore, he was not restricted in his right to meet someone or turn down an appointment,” Kucherena said.
The lawyer believes that it’s the Obama administration that is responsible for its own headache with the fugitive. “When I suggested to them that they re-issue his passport for him to make a decision where to fly to, they answered that ‘We can do that but only for him to re-enter the U.S.’ However, this was not in my principal’s best interest,” he went on.
Now Snowden has special papers confirming his temporary legal status in Russia and granting him “all the same rights and responsibilities given to any Russian citizen, except electoral franchise and government employment,” the lawyer explained.
These freedoms, however, come with the condition set forth by President Vladimir Putin of Russia himself that the young whistleblower end his “anti-American activity,”. In spite of this, the media keep leaking information about the role that Snowden could still possibly play in shedding light on instances of U.S. intelligence tapping the phone lines of Germany’s Angela Merkel and other politicians. Kucherena did not deny the fact that Snowden’s revelations are continuing to be published and to create controversy but said that “all the current revelations are based on materials that Snowden leaked to journalists when he was still in Hong Kong” and that taking back these materials was now physically impossible.
There have recently been rumors about Russian IT companies hiring Snowden. Back in August, Vkontakte’s Durov personally sought his “personal hero” as an IT specialist for his company. On October 31, Kucherena said that “starting in November, Edward goes to work,” refusing to name the employer for security reasons.
However, when asked by Rossiiskaya Gazeta almost two weeks later what Snowden lives off in Russia, Kucherena mentioned no employment whatsoever. He only explained that the young man “never engaged in ‘secrets trading’ and received no proceeds from that.” He also said that “whatever savings Snowden had have been spent on food, rent and security; however, there are organizations and citizens that provide some help, including financial aid.”
The Russian lawyer concluded by saying that “with his professional savvy, Snowden has a good future awaiting him in any country.”
