Source: AP 2020

On June 21, 1983, Edward Snowden, a world-famous whistleblower of American intelligence agencies, was born in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, who in 2013 provided several media outlets with information about the US government's total surveillance of millions of people around the world. Fleeing persecution, Snowden eventually ended up in Russia. He cannot return to his native country, since in the United States he was charged in absentia with espionage and theft of government property. However, the disgraced agent is not wasting his time. On the birthday of the famous whistleblower, AiF.ru tells what he began to do during his forced exile.

“The Hermit,” whose face never leaves the screens

$200 thousand - this was Edward Snowden's annual income at the National Security Agency (NSA), according to The Guardian. And, according to Yahoo News, he earned about the same amount in 2016 from speaking fees at various lectures and symposiums organized around the world.

Despite the fact that Snowden's whereabouts are not disclosed for security reasons, it cannot be said that he leads the life of a hermit. On the contrary, his face constantly appears at various technology and human rights conferences, leading directors like Oliver Stone seek his attention, and government representatives are consulted on security issues. Range of events in which he participates former intelligence officer, incredibly wide. Here his face appears on a giant screen at a conference on personal data security in Tokyo, here he speaks to an audience at the international exhibition of youth culture Comic-con in San Diego, and then at a music festival in the middle of Europe.

Naturally, Snowden does not receive fees for all of his remote appearances. However, this is of little concern to the American authorities, who have been criticizing former employee for “profiting from the secrets of his native country.” “In my opinion, he violated the oath he swore to our government on our Constitution. The fact that he is being rewarded for this is sad and wrong,” former CIA Director John Brennan said in 2016.

However, Snowden's supporters believe that he simply had no other choice. He was unable to take large savings with him to Russia. But you have to live on something. If he had not been able to earn money on his own, he would inevitably have been labeled a spy in the pay of Moscow. Besides, what's wrong with lecturing for a living? After all, many former American agents living quietly in their homeland make money quite legally from the same speeches on security issues.

Traveled all over Russia in 5 years

At the same time, Snowden has never appeared “live” in public in Russia over the past 5 years. Only once did a photographer accidentally capture him walking along the embankment in the Russian capital.

According to Snowden's lawyer Anatoly Kucherena, the whistleblower lives in an ordinary Moscow rented apartment, moves around the city by metro and buys groceries in regular stores. For 5 years, the agent traveled around Russia, visited St. Petersburg several times, which he really liked.

Life in Russia, meanwhile, turned out to be far from cheap, and the income from lectures alone was not enough to cover everything. And Snowden accepted an offer to get a job as an IT security consultant in one of the large international corporations. At the same time, he began developing his own software for protection against surveillance "Haven". It was presented in December 2017 and co-authored by the Freedom of the Press Foundation. The program allows you not only to encrypt all information on your computer or phone, but also stands guard at home. Sensors mobile device record changes in the room and send a signal to the owner if someone has entered there.

His girlfriend Lindsay Mills lives with Snowden in Russia. Several years ago, the American media wrote about their separation, but director Oliver Stone, who made a feature film about Snowden and met with him several times in Moscow, denied this information. The agent in Russia is also visited by his father, who has repeatedly urged his son to return to his homeland.

Will the fugitive return home?

Inevitably, during such a long stay in Russia, Snowden was accused of working for the Russian intelligence services. The denials, which were repeatedly given by both the whistleblower himself and the President of Russia, could not reassure the most suspicious.

For example, the head of German counterintelligence, Hans-Georg Maasen, said in 2016 that Snowden had become “part of the hybrid war that Russia is waging against the West.” According to the politician, the Russian SVR could have recruited the American even before he joined the NSA. Maasen called the fact that in international public opinion Snowden remains a lone idealist “the pinnacle of success” for Russia in disinformation work.

But if the NSA whistleblower was indeed recruited by the Russians, then how can we explain the fact why he, while living in Russia, repeatedly criticized Russian authorities? Snowden expressed disagreement with legislative restrictions on the Internet and condemned the blocking of the Telegram messenger. He repeatedly stated his desire to leave Russia and move to a permanent place of residence in one of the Latin American countries.

However, Snowden has already said more than once that he is ready to return to the United States and stand trial if they give him guarantees that the trial will be open and with the participation of a jury. However, he did not receive such guarantees either under the previous President Barack Obama or under the current owner of the White House, Donald Trump. This is despite the fact that at home leading human rights organizations, Hollywood stars and even individual politicians, such as US presidential candidate Democrat Bernie Sanders, are supporting Snowden.

When Trump came to power, some American publications wrote that the Kremlin might hand over Snowden as a gift to Trump, but these reports turned out to be just another “fake news.” Russian authorities have extended the residence permit of a former agent. And now it seems that one of America's greatest dissidents will still have time to grow old here.

Who Is Edward Snowden?

Edward Snowden is a 31 year old US citizen, former Intelligence Community officer and whistleblower. The documents he revealed provided a vital public window into the NSA and its international intelligence partners’ secret mass surveillance programs and capabilities. These revelations generated unprecedented attention around the world on privacy intrusions and digital security, leading to a global debate on the issue.

Snowden worked in various roles within the US Intelligence Community, including serving undercover for the CIA overseas. He most recently worked as an infrastructure analyst at the NSA, through a Booz Allen Hamilton contract, when he left his home and family in Hawaii to blow the whistle in May 2013. After traveling to Hong Kong, Snowden revealed documents to the American public on the NSA's mass surveillance programs, which were shown to be operating without any public oversight and outside the limits of the US Constitution. The US government has charged Snowden with theft of government property, and two further charges under the 1917 Espionage Act. Each charge carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.

With the US pursuing his extradition, Snowden is now in Russia, where he was formally granted three years' residency from 1 August 2014, after a year of temporary asylum in Russia ended on 31st July 2014. Journalists continue to publish documents from Snowden that reveal the secret and unaccountable systems of modern global surveillance.

Quick facts

For quick access to information on all aspects concerning Edward Snowden and his case, please read our page.

Edward Snowden: Sam Adams Award

Snowden talks at the Sam Adams Award ceremony in October 2013 about the secret surveillance he revealed and its dangers to democracy.

6 years of life in Russia

For obvious reasons, even in Russia, Edward Snowden is forced to lead a closed lifestyle, so journalists do not know exactly where he now lives in Moscow. However, in 2019 it appeared new information, transmitted by his lawyer, as well as representatives of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, whom he advised on the issue of a possible shutdown of the Internet in Russia.

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Successful learning of the Russian language and Russian culture

All Russians saw Snowden several years ago during one of the press conferences of Russian President Vladimir Putin, when he asked him a question via video link in Russian.

And today, the former American agent continues to master the Russian language, having lived in Russia for 6 years. Kucherena said that his client leads the life of an ordinary Russian.

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He not only actively continues to learn Russian, but also gets acquainted with Russian culture by visiting:

Exhibitions.

The lawyer said that Edward Snowden independently visits Russian regions, but did not specify where he is now.

Most likely, in 2019, the American will be protected by Russian special services. He has a residence permit, which allows him to move freely around Russia without attracting the attention of the press and strangers.

Having been professionally trained as an agent of one of the world's most powerful intelligence agencies, Edward has no difficulty in being invisible to the press in Russia.

Kucherena said that the main problem that Snowden faced in Russia has been resolved. He regularly sees his loved ones and his girlfriend, who freely came to Russia to visit an American accused in his homeland of theft of state property, espionage and treason.

What Snowden does in Russia is not known for obvious reasons. But it can be assumed that, unlike his compatriot, policeman John Mark Dugan, who fled to Russia in 2016, he continues to engage in his professional activities.

yandex_ad_2 If a former American policeman who served in the US Navy was afraid to work in his main specialty in Russia due to the fact that Russian police officers have too few rights for dangerous work, then an IT specialist from the American intelligence services seems to be completely satisfied with the position of an FSB consultant .

A recent report that the Federation Council is developing a law on creating a sustainable Internet space in Russia in case it is disconnected from foreign servers allows us to make an assumption about this. Chairman of the Federation Council committee Andrei Klishas said that Russian legislators responsible for information security in Russia were advised by Edward Snowden.

He pointed to the fact that it was a former NSA agent now living in Russia who spoke about the shutdown of Syria from the Internet on November 29, 2012. Even such a small country, which was at war at that time, was plunged into a monstrous economic and infrastructural collapse.

Klishas told reporters that information for drawing up a new law protecting the Russian Internet was provided to SovFer by Edward Snowden, without saying where he is now and what he is doing in 2019. It looks like the American may be involved in many new Russian laws related to computer and financial security.

Edward Snowden gained worldwide fame after a series of revealing articles about the total surveillance of the citizens of various countries by American intelligence services through special computer programs. The articles were based on secret documents that Snowden was able to obtain while working for the NSA (National Security Agency) and the CIA as a special agent, system administrator and analyst.

Biography of Edward Snowden

Edward Snowden was born on June 21, 1983 in the small town of Elizabeth City, located in North Carolina.

Edward's father's name is Lonnie Snowden. He served in the United States Armed Forces and the Coast Guard, retiring in 2009. Mother, Elizabeth Snowden, worked as a lawyer in the federal court of Baltimore. Elder sister Edward, Jessica, like their mother, chose a career in law, she works at the Federal Judicial Center in Washington, DC.

Ed Snowden became interested in computer science as a teenager, and after enrolling in this specialty at Anne Arundel College (Maryland), he showed good academic results. However, obtaining a diploma was delayed, as several months of study were missed due to illness. After recovery, Edward managed to pass the final tests and decided to continue his studies in the same direction. He chose distance learning on the Internet and in 2011, received a master's degree from the University of Liverpool.

Career

Edward Snowden began his career even before receiving a university diploma. In 2004, he decided to go to fight in Iraq because he said he felt he had to help free people from Saddam's dictatorial regime. Edward began serving as a reservist in the US Armed Forces, but was unable to complete his military training prior to his deployment to Iraq. The cause was a serious injury - Edward broke his legs during the training course tests.

After recovery, Edward received an offer to work for the NSA. Initially, it was the protection of classified facilities on the territory of the University of Maryland. Even then, Snowden was allowed access to information at the “Top Secret” and “Special Intelligence” levels.

This was followed by a promotion - Edward was transferred to an NSA base located in Hawaii as a system administrator. He worked here until 2007, and even then he was collecting information, which later formed the basis for revealing articles, although at that time there was no formed plan for such actions.

This was followed by a two-year period (from 2007 to 2009) serving in the CIA's information security department, where Snowden was tasked with overseeing the security of computer networks.

In 2009, Edward left the CIA after receiving an offer from the American company Dell. Here he worked in the consulting department, which also collaborated with the NSA. In the spring of 2013, Snowden changed jobs again, moving to consulting service military contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. Here he only managed to work for 3 months before he decided to take the most important step in his life.

Snowden revelations

While working for American intelligence agencies, Edward Snowden often encountered methods of employees who were contrary to his beliefs. Disappointment with the activities of the NSA and CIA began back in 2007, but he long doubted whether he had the right to disclose information and whether this would harm other people even more. In addition, Edward had hope that with the arrival of Barack Obama, the situation in the country would change. When this did not happen, the decision was made to act.

First, Edward contacted Laura Poitras, an American human rights activist and journalist who took part in the creation of the Freedom of the Press Foundation. He then also wrote to Glenn Greenwald, an employee of the English newspaper The Guardian, and Barton Gellman, a publicist who contributed to The Washington Post. All communication took place incognito and through a special code.

Edward began transmitting information while still in America, but asked to postpone publication. On May 20, he took leave and flew to Hong Kong, where he continued to correspond with journalists from his hotel room. Soon after his arrival, Snowden discovered that the intelligence services were on his trail and then decided to speak openly about himself.

Snowden told reporters about this, inviting them to his hotel room. On the same day, The Washington Post and The Guardian published extensive material about the government's PRISM program, aimed at mass secret collection of data on people.

Edward gave a video interview to journalists with permission to publish it. He decided not to hide his identity, since he was sure that he was not doing anything wrong, and it was the US intelligence services that were violating the law.

In total, Snowden stole about 1.7 million secret files, but only 200 thousand documents were handed over to journalists. This was done for safety reasons - Edward clearly understood the boundaries of what was permissible and, first of all, tried not to harm anyone.

What is Snowden doing now?

Edward understood that after revealing his identity it would be necessary to seek refuge. He initially wanted to stay in Hong Kong, but the Chinese authorities refused. Ecuador agreed to host Snowden. However, on the way there, during a transfer at Sheremetyevo Airport, the American authorities canceled Edward's passport and he was unable to continue his journey.

On June 30, 2013, Snowden received a request for political asylum in Russia, which was soon approved.

The American government demanded the extradition of Snowden, but the Russian authorities refused, arguing that there were no such agreements and that Snowden had not committed any crimes on Russian territory. At the same time, Snowden was given a condition - refusal to commit any illegal actions against America.

Now Edward Snowden lives in Russia, without disclosing the exact location. However, he was noticed in Moscow, and he also visited St. Petersburg and other Russian cities.

Snowden advises international IT corporations and speaks at conferences on the protection of private information. In 2018, Edward completed writing his memoirs, which are available for purchase beginning in September 2019.

Attitude towards Edward Snowden's actions

Snowden's revelations became an important milestone in the debate about the permissibility of government intervention in the private lives of citizens for the sake of security.

Edward himself said that he was prompted to such an act by the realization that children of the 21st century can grow up without any understanding of what immunity is privacy. He was concerned that this could have a devastating effect on each individual and on society as a whole.

Society itself had an ambivalent attitude towards the incident. According to 2013 polls in the United States, only about 15% consider Snowden a hero, and more than half of those surveyed think that he is “something between a traitor and an informant.” The dynamics are also interesting - in 2013 he was called “definitely a traitor” by 21% of respondents, and by 2016 the number of such answers increased to 30%.

These numbers show that people are getting used to transparency. own life and the concept of personal boundaries is gradually blurring.

The ex-National Security Agency employee did this ahead of the release of his memoirs, which will be published on September 17

Edward Snowden. Photo: Rafael Marchante/Reuters

A former employee of the US National Security Agency, American intelligence services, gave a series of interviews to Western media ahead of the release of his memoirs, which will be released on September 17.

IN last years Snowden is in Russia, where he was first granted temporary asylum and then a residence permit.

Snowden lives on the outskirts of Moscow. He does not feel any surveillance. It turned out that from the first day of persecution he requested asylum in France. Francois Hollande, who was then president, refused him. Now Snowden is ready to move to France if Macron is ready for it.

“Although I would prefer to be in the US or somewhere like Germany, now I can lead a more or less normal daily life. I am less scared than when I first arrived in Russia in 2013 and felt alone, isolated and paranoid that American agents might be targeting me. Now I do without the scarves, hats and coats that I once used as camouflage, I move freely around the city, take the subway, visit art galleries or the ballet, and meet friends in cafes and restaurants. In 2013, I applied for asylum in France, then the president was Francois Hollande. Of course, I would really like Macron to grant me asylum. Two years ago I secretly married my girlfriend Lindsay Mills. We signed at the Russian registry office. She is the love of my life, we have known each other for over ten years. Lindsay's Russian is better than mine. Now we live in an apartment on the outskirts of Moscow, I make a living mainly by lecturing to students, civil rights activists and other people abroad via video conference. One of the things that gets lost in all the problematic policies of the Russian government is that it is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. The people are friendly. The people are warm. When I came here, I didn't understand anything. I was terrified of this place because of course they were a great fortress of the enemy, which is how a CIA agent looks at Russia. One of the things Americans didn't understand about Russia is that almost everything you could get in the US is available in Russia, except maybe Taco Bell."

Snowden's lawyer Anatoly Kucherena commented to Interfax on his statement about his desire to leave Russia. According to him, the desire of the ex-CIA employee to leave for France or Germany does not mean that he feels bad in Russia; on the contrary, he is safer here. The lawyer sees nothing wrong with Snowden wanting to obtain a residence permit or citizenship in some other country.

Edward Snowden in an interview voiced his desire to move to France. The Ministry of Justice of this country spoke in favor of satisfying the request of a former CIA employee to provide him with asylum. Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet said France must follow its “strong principles in the field of migration” and in mandatory provide asylum to those who make such a request.

The chances that France will grant asylum to Snowden this time are high, says senior Researcher Institute of International Studies MGIMO Leonid Gusev.

Leonid Gusev Senior Researcher, Institute of International Studies, MGIMO“The situation has developed very interesting. Maybe it can be explained by the fact that France, the same Macron and his ministers want to look like they are trying to Lately, significant figures both in Europe and on the world stage, and to pursue their independent policy to the fullest, they want to show everyone by this: please, we will provide Snowden with asylum in France, and he can go about his business there. Secondly, to show that we defend human rights, no matter what, and France is also one of the main countries in the field of human rights protection. They probably hope that the United States can ultimately come to terms with this position of France, especially since Trump, as president, now has many other concerns, both domestic and foreign policy. This is probably what they are counting on.”

On Monday, September 16, a long interview with Snowden will be aired on France Inter radio. Excerpts from it are already