How Long Will Snowden Stay in the News?

It is strange that we still do not know about the state of Edward Snowden’s appetite, pulse rate, blood pressure … but we have received the news that the Federal Migration Service has at last given him the papers that will allow him to cross state borders. This message was accompanied by the mysterious postscript: “if the border guards don’t mind.” The FMS behaved in a no less mysterious manner. It neither confirmed nor denied anything, as if trying not to deviate from the conventions of the classic spy novel.

In short, we do not know where our dear guest will go next.

And our guest is really very dear indeed — not only in the sense of how much he will cost, because that is a mere trifle compared to the cost of the Sochi Olympics, but in the sense of loss to our long-term diplomatic relationship with the U.S. But in principle, that means nothing if we have acted as is best. Perhaps the secrets are even worth it. I know nothing of military secrets, but I would suggest that the propagandistic worth of Snowden is similar to that of acquiring French actor Gerard Depardieu as a Russian citizen. It is entirely possible that we will soon see posters of Snowden in the streets, advertising the furniture shop “Three Pillars,” or something like that.

One more important fact: Snowden has arrived in Moscow precisely on the eve of the campaigns for the upcoming mayoral election in the city, which are gaining momentum and promising to be quite intriguing. Snowden is not one to overlook the details and has probably weighed up the “pros” and “cons” of going to Moscow or Hong Kong. And as Moscow, in his eyes, has outweighed all the charms of the southeastern metropolis, this could be taken as high praise for Sergei Sobyanin as the acting mayor and greatly increase his chances of being re-elected.

Welcome to Russia, Mr. Snowden!