Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/10/22/russia-gives-snowden-permanent-residency.html
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Such gracious hosts
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Kinda sucks he has to resort to living in Russia… I mean, that in itself is a type of prison.
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It’s not like he’s going to get the fair and public trial in the U.S. that he’s asked for, so he might as well enjoy the freedom (such as it is) of living in Putin’s Russia.
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Man, I wish the world were simpler and he was either a hero or a dupe. Instead of neither. And both.
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If Obama had actually followed through on his being the “most transparent administration” that he claimed that he was going to have, dropped all charges against Snowden, and worked hard to dismantle the NSA’s programs for spying on American citizens, this wouldn’t have happened. Instead, he and his administration prosecuted and persecuted Snowden and Chelsea Manning, and he only commuted Manning’s sentence rather than a full pardon, which created travel complications for her…
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Maybe his only chance was for Trump to pardon him because Obama refused to. You know, Deep State.
Moscow has to be nicer than Supermax, which holds nonviolent prisoners, too.
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Decoded message: “See? Russia is more free than the US!”.
Kudos to Putin for choosing the most effective moment to send that message.
…unless it’s all part of something in which step 2 could be Trump pardoning Snowden live during today’s debate.
Looking at all permutations (Putin owning Trump badly, the other way around, the two in agreement to push Trump reelection through making Putin look like an idiot, etc.) the number of possible scenarios becomes interesting.
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My goodness, pardoning Snowden live would be delicious. Completely bonkers, totally on-brand, and highly unlikely to be enforced, but it would make one hell of a headline.
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how do you go about buying a property in russia… just to stay alive
Time may bring clarity.
I don’t think this is an issue of clarity as much as messy reality. These are deeply flawed people who did something for a mix of reasons, for the benefit of a decidedly mixed group of people.
Snowden’s open-ended stay appears to have been made possible by 2019 reforms to Russian immigration rules that make it easier for highly-skilled workers to adopt the nation as their home. While permanent residence offers a pathway to citizenship, [Snowden’s lawyer] Kucherena said Snowden has no interest in acquiring a Russian passport at this time.
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