MOSCOW — Former National Security Agency contractor-turned-whistleblower Edward Snowden has been granted Russian citizenship. The news was confirmed in a decree by Russian President Vladimir Putin posted Monday to the Kremlin's website.
Snowden first arrived in Russia in 2013 after leaking secret files that revealed a vast web of domestic and international surveillance by the U.S. government. The Kremlin subsequently granted him asylum, even as the U.S. pursued espionage charges.
