He didn’t decide to move to Russia. The US revoked his passport during his layover while he was en route to Ecuador.
I don’t think you can say he didn’t make the decision to move to Russia at some point. You don’t get there accidentally, and his decisions most certainly brought him there. And that’s where he lives and has lived for many years now. I think you can see the hypocrisy of the situation. If he did what he did in America in Russia, he’d be dead. If he were FSB and leaked internal Russian intelligence, they would kill him. If government spying is his concern, he moved to the worst place, and practices very selective criticism. That’s primarily what I take issue with.
TIL that having your passport revoked while you are traveling is the same thing as intentionally moving somewhere
TIL you can also practice selective reading. Why do you think he hasn’t criticized the Russian government?
If anyone is interested, here’s what really happened:
“On June 21, 2013, the United States Department of Justice unsealed charges against Snowden of two counts of violating the Espionage Act of 1917 and theft of government property, following which the Department of State revoked his passport. Two days later, he flew into Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport, where Russian authorities observed the canceled passport, and he was restricted to the airport terminal for over one month. Russia later granted Snowden the right of asylum with an initial visa for residence for one year, which was subsequently repeatedly extended. In October 2020, he was granted permanent residency in Russia. In September 2022, Snowden was granted Russian citizenship by President Vladimir Putin, and on December 2, 2022 he swore the oath of allegiance.”
