Lindsay Mills, the wife of Edward Snowden, has submitted the necessary documents to apply for Russian citizenship, according to Anatoli Kutscherena, her lawyer, who spoke to the TASS news agency. Mills, who has lived in Russia for over five years, is now going through the standard procedure for obtaining citizenship. The lawyer added that he is not directly involved in the process, but is optimistic that it will proceed smoothly.
Edward Snowden, a former employee of the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States, made headlines in June 2013 by leaking classified documents about surveillance programs of US and British intelligence agencies to journalists at the Washington Post and the Guardian. The documents revealed that the NSA was extensively monitoring the computers of major internet companies, granting access to millions of users’ videos, photos, emails, and contact information. Snowden justified his actions by stating that he refused to be part of a system that caused more harm than good.
Following the publication of the documents, Snowden, then 29, planned to travel to Ecuador, where he intended to seek political asylum. However, the US annulled his passport and demanded his extradition the same day. Snowden remained in the transit area of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport and applied for asylum in Russia. Initially, he was granted a residence permit, and in 2022, he was granted Russian citizenship. Snowden’s current whereabouts in Russia are unclear, as he has largely withdrawn from public life.