October 1970, the airport of the Turkish city of Trabzon. The Soviet An-24 passenger airliner landed, on board were 46 passengers, two pilots, one of them was seriously injured, a flight mechanic, a navigator and one killed stewardess. There are two culprits, one son, the other father. They are freedom fighters and strive for European values. On the way to bright ideals, there was one hindrance: a young girl-bride who was about to get married in three months. The obstruction is eliminated, the stewardess Nadezhda Kurchenko is killed.
The USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs demanded the extradition of the Brazinskas - this was the name of the killers. The answer is negative. Moreover, fearing for the lives of proponents of democracy, US authorities granted them asylum.
What do the Brazilians and Edward Snowden have in common? What did he do this, for which his extradition requires a country that considers itself the main bastion of democratic values? All three are refugees fearing for their lives. Only Edward did not kill anyone.
The biography of this still young man with the appearance of a student, “nerd, ” is not entirely ordinary. He always loved his country, was ready to fight for its interests in Iraq and took an active life position, enlisting as a volunteer in the US Army. He did not make a military career - he injured his legs during exercises, but the fuse from this did not disappear. Another would have simply taken up some peaceful business, but not Edward Snowden. What he did next does not fit into the framework of ordinary fate. He became an employee of the American intelligence services, first the CIA, and then the NSA.
After some time, the young romantic was convinced that the struggle for bright ideals is not always waged with white gloves on. Well, apparently, this is necessary, because the terrorist enemies are insidious. But the trouble is: an unauthorized wiretap is being conducted not where they might be (at least as far as Edward Snowden could judge about this). What did he do to make sure of this completely? He convinced his employees to provide him with usernames and passwords, and found out who the American intelligence controls.
So it is: they’re listening not to al-Qaeda, and not even to the authoritarian Moscow Kremlin, but to officials from European democratic and friendly countries. And also ordinary citizens, and on such a scale that the special services of totalitarian states, including the Soviet KGB, did not even dream of. Indeed, the technical capabilities of the CIA allow …
If Edward were selfish, he could easily get rich by selling secrets. And he could have done nothing at all, because he had a well-paid dust-free job, know for yourself, work and live merrily. But not such a man Edward Snowden. What did he do when he learned facts that were extremely unpleasant for him as a staunch champion of freedom? He began to provide materials to the free press. This was the reason for his pursuit, which could well lead to an electric chair.
There used to be an old joke about how a person who called the head of state a fool was convicted under two articles at once, firstly, for insulting, and secondly, for disclosing state secrets.
What Edward Snowden told offended many European leaders. It turns out they were listened to, and then also commented on what they heard, calling the distinguished presidents and prime ministers all sorts of bad words. Barack Obama was very uncomfortable.
The secret services tried very hard to find out where Edward Snowden was. The latest news on November 1, 2013 was that the former ABN employee was in the Russian Federation, where he was granted a residence permit. Apparently, the information released by him was not a big secret for Vladimir Putin, but the Russian authorities did not intend to extradite Snowden. He’s not a killer …
