okay okay, i am not doubting Snowden is a good guy. I am just trying to tell there is nothing so tragic in his current situation (while of course, he risked much more). One day life will pay him back for this. And for now, he will be just fine. And there are plenty of good girls to date in Russia (and many of them are already attacking him).
He stills pretty much explodes Holmes and Rahe stress scale. Some people would have simply killed themselves. Sure, the guy has grit. Doesn't mean that he likes being there. It's a whole different life style. You have to build everything from the ground up.
Millions of people every year do the same, tens of thousands of them for same reasons (political dissidents turning refugees). And, normally they have lower status in their receiving countries than in home ones (because they are usually public persons with some visibility before leaving, otherwise it's hard to be a dissident), which is the reverse for Snowden who is a humble sysadmin turned celebrity.
Of course, it's better for him to stay in Russia then going to Equador as he planned, at least he will get a good job there. Certainly he will dislike St. Petersburg climate when the winter falls (very cold and humid), but there are places with decent climate and still good jobs.
