Snowden’s alleged privileged treatment by Putin’s Russia after defecting

133 entirely in the hands of Putin’s Russia. He would also have to be fully candid with the Russian authorities about what was of great value to Putin: the secret documents he had acquired. Two days later, Snowden made his first public appearance in Russia. It had been, like previous press conferences with US defectors to Russia, carefully managed, First, Snowden arrived by limousine at the international transit lounge of Sheremetyevo airport. He was seated at a table with Harrison. As Snowden spoke no Russian, a Russian translator was provided. The small audience included hand-picked Russian officials, including some Putin’s close associates. They were ushered through passport control by security men to the otherwise cordoned-off lounge. The cameras for RT television and other Russian channels were already in place. When everyone had taken their seats, Snowden announced in a quiet voice that was seeking asylum in Russia. Ten minutes later, Snowden and Harrison were escorted back to the limousine which drove off to an unannounced destination. Snowden received Russian identification papers on August 1, 2013 that allowed him to resettle in Moscow. Not only was he provided with a residence but he was allowed to set up in it a broadcasting studio that could be used for Internet appearance at well-attended events around the world, such as South by Southwest, TED, and other Internet conferences. Snowden was, according to Kucherena, was also furnished with bodyguards. To help earn his keep, he was employed at an unidentified Moscow cyber-security firm. To complete his resettlement, Lindsay Mills, whom he had left behind in Hawaii, was given a 3-month visa and was allowed to temporarily live with him in Moscow. This afforded him a life style which Snowden described in an interview as “great.” Kucherena, although he was acting without compensation from Snowden, later received the stunning sum of one million dollars from Open Road Films, the distributor for Oliver Stone’s “Snowden” movie, for the rights to his not completed novel called “Time of the Octopus,” a story based on his story of Snowden’s stay at the airport. It would strain credibility that such privileges would be awarded to an intelligence defector who had refused to cooperate with Russian authorities. In Snowden’s case, he was even allowed to participate in a Putin’s telethon on state-controlled television. On it, he was called on to ask Putin if the Russian government violated the privacy of Russian citizens in the same way that the American government violated rights of its citizens. Putin, smiling at Snowden’s presumably vetted question, answered in a single word: “No.” In the Moscow scenario, Snowden received sanctuary, support, perks and high-level treatment by Putin himself because he agreed to cooperate. If Snowden had not paid the price of admission, either in Russia or before his arrival, he would not have been accorded this privileged status. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_020285