Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sept. 26 granted full Russian citizenship to Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor who leaked information about the U.S. agency’s widespread domestic surveillance operations during the Obama administration.
Snowden, 39, fled to Russia in 2013 from the United States after he posted secret files that revealed the NSA’s operations. U.S. authorities have for years sought to bring Snowden back and arrest him on espionage charges.
