Edward Snowden's family is living very well in Russia and there are no problems related to his life there, his lawyer Anatoly Kucherena told TASS.
“Everything is going well for them – everything is wonderful. Russia is a hospitable country, so there are absolutely no problems in this regard“, Kucherena said during an extended meeting of the Public Council of the Main Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Novosibirsk Region.
Snowden has been living in Russia since 2013, after revealing secret documents about the electronic surveillance programs of the US services. In September 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree granting him Russian citizenship. On December 2 of that year, Snowden received a Russian passport and took the oath.
His wife, Lindsay Mills, applied for Russian citizenship in January 2025. She has lived in Russia for more than five years, and according to Kucherena, her application went through the standard procedure. The couple married in 2017.
US authorities have charged Snowden with two counts of the Espionage Act, each of which carries a possible sentence of up to 10 years in prison. He left the United States after handing over materials to journalists about the scale of electronic surveillance by US services.
The exact address of his family in Russia has not been made public. Kucherena has been his lawyer since the beginning of his stay in the country and has periodically commented on his legal status and the conditions in which he lives.
Sources: tass.com