MOSCOW — When Edward Snowden, self-confessed leaker of
classified information about U.S.
surveillance programs, said he would seek
asylum in a country where free speech was protected, it raised a question for
many in Moscow. Was Russia on his list?
In its Tuesday’s editions, Russia’s Kommersant newspaper
reported it had asked President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman if Snowden,
reportedly in Hong Kong, could find sanctuary in Moscow.
“We will act upon a fait accompli,” said Dmitri Peskov, who
speaks freely on behalf of Putin. “If the request is filed, it will be
considered. There can be no subjunctive mood in such cases.”
Snowden mentioned Iceland in his interviews with reporters,
but not Russia, perhaps for good reason.
Washington-based Freedom House, in a
report this year, called Russia “not free.” On paper, the constitution
guarantees freedom of speech, but as the report points out, “Vague laws on
extremism make it possible to crack down on any speech, organization, or
activity that lacks official support.”
Still, the idea of an American citizen seeking protection
from his own government quickly piqued interest — and speculation — in Moscow.
“By promising asylum to Snowden, Moscow would undertake the
protection of persons persecuted for political motives,” Alexei Pushkov,
chairman of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, tweeted Tuesday.
Such a move, Pushkov continued, would challenge the United
States’s self-image as the global haven for political refugees. “The U.S. would
be hysterical,” he wrote.
Before heading toward the nearest Russian consulate,
however, any would-be asylum-seekers should remember this: It’s pretty easy to
end up in Siberia – it takes up more than half the country.
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