NSA Leaker Portrayed as a Hero on Russian TV

While Edward Snowden “has remained mysteriously hidden from sight during his visit to Russia this week, Russian television has been making him a hero,” the New York Times reports.

“On programs that were hastily arranged and broadcast on the two largest federal channels, he was compared to the dissident Andrei Sakharov, to Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, and to Max Otto von Stirlitz, a dashing fictional double agent from Soviet television… The chance that Russia will turn him in has all but vanished, as evidenced by Thursday’s television programs, which were almost certainly produced under Kremlin orders and have a powerful effect on public opinion.”