OREANDA-NEWS. Former NSA and CIA officer Edward Snowden celebrated the New Year, as it should be in Russia, with a small feast, said Anatoly Kucherena, a lawyer representing Snowden's interests in the Russian Federation, adding that his client misses his homeland and is not indifferent to what is happening in the United States.

As Kucherena told on the air of "Russia 24", answering the question about how Snowden spent the holidays, "like our country, he met the New Year, had a small feast. He is already used to it, because he already lives in Russia, more than seven years, since 2013 ".

The lawyer added that Snowden certainly misses his homeland. "But today he remains in Russia, because he has no other choice, he has a residence permit, he had a child before NG, so everything is fine with him," Kucherena said.

Snowden was reported to have sparked a major international scandal in June 2013 by handing over classified materials to the Washington Post and Guardian on Internet surveillance programs of the US and UK. After that, he flew to Hong Kong, and from there to Moscow, where he spent some time in the transit zone of Sheremetyevo airport. After refusals from a number of other countries, Russia granted Snowden a temporary asylum for a period of a year on the condition that he cease his activities against the United States.

In August 2014, Snowden received a three-year residence permit, which allows him to travel not only in Russia, but also abroad. Subsequently, Snowden was issued an indefinite residence permit in Russia. Snowden later tweeted that he had decided to apply for dual US-Russian citizenship.