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With three notable exceptions, the flights to them had stopovers in a country that was an ally of the US, and which could seize Snowden. The three exceptions were China, North Korea (via China) and Russia.

The only one of these three countries, or any other country, that Snowden is known to have dealt with directly during his 33 day stay in Hong Kong, was Russia. As previously discussed, he had dealings with Russian “diplomatic representatives “, as Putin called them. Putin did not provide the date of these contacts but he provided an intriguing clue. Snowden was identified to him, according to Putin, not by name but merely as an “agent of special services.” Putin’s description suggests the meeting had taken place before Snowden became a household name on June 9, 2013.

For his part, Snowden was evasive when discussing his contacts with Russia while still in Hong Kong. When Lana Lam asked Snowden on June 12, 2013 whether he had already requested asylum from the Russia government, he deferred, saying: “My only comment is that I am glad there are governments that refuse to be intimidated by great power.” As it turned out, Snowden was correct. The Russian government was not intimidated by the threats of reprisals by the United States, as the Obama Administration would learn after his arrival in Russia on June 23, 2013. But the only way that Snowden could not have known that fact on June 12th was by being in contact with Russian officials prior to his interview with Lam. Of course, he may have had multiple contacts on different dates with these officials. The Russian pro-government newspaper Kommersant reported that Snowden had visited the Russian consulate on more than one occasion and had been given a birthday celebration there on June 21, 2013.

What we do know about Snowden’s interactions with the Russians in Hong Kong comes partly from Putin’s own description of them. Putin said, it will be recalled, that his decision to facilitate Snowden’s escape to Russia had been kicked all the way up the Russian chain of command for him to personally decide Snowden’s fate. Presumably, this decision-making process began earlier than June 21, 2013, when he reportedly came to the consulate. The question is: how much earlier? Since Snowden had arrived in Hong Kong on May 20th, 2013, his contacts with Russian officials could have occurred as long as a month earlier. That would fit in with Snowden telling Gellman on May 24th that he needed his help in dealing with the diplomatic mission of an unnamed country. In any case, Putin tells us he learned an American “agent of the special services” had contacted Russian diplomats because he wanted assistance. And Snowden did need assistance to escape from Hong Kong. As he had no visas, he would require the sort of assistance that could only be provided by a government willing to defy the United States. The assistance came from Russia.

Nine days before Snowden boarded Aeroflot flight SU213 to Moscow on June 23rd, the US had filed a criminal complaint against him. It had also alerted Hong Kong authorities and Interpol when it unsealed the complaint on June 21, 2013. And on June 21st it had invalidated his U.S. passport (although he still had it in his possession at the Hong Kong Airport.) Since by this time

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