Edward Snowden becomes Russian citizen

Former National Security Agency employee Edward Snowden has been granted Russian citizenship.

"Snowden Edward Joseph, born June 21, 1983 in the United States of America,” the list of those who received Russian citizenship says.

Edward Snowden has been staying in Moscow since 2013. The US authorities accuse him of embezzling state property and disclosing state secrets.

Edward Snowden found himself at the center of the international scandal in 2013, when he handed over secret documents about the secret program of US intelligence services to spy on citizens of the United States and other countries to journalists from The Guardian and The Washington Post. After that, he fled the United States and asked for political asylum in dozens of countries at a time. He asked for asylum in Russia too. The Russian authorities subsequently gave him permission to stay/

In the United States, Snowden is charged with illegal transfer of national security information, willful transfer of intelligence information and state property theft. He faces up to 30 years in prison on those counts.

Noteworthy, with the same decree Putin granted Russian citizenship to French film actor Oliver Siou. The actor often stars in Russian films and TV shows.