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NSA leaker Edward Snowden is currently living under asylum in Russia, so it makes sense that he would want to know about the countrys own surveillance practices. He managed to take his inquiry straight to the top and pose the question to none other than President Vladimir Putin during a live, state-run television broadcast. Ive seen little public discussion of Russias own involvement in the policies of mass surveillance, he said. So Id like to ask you: Does Russia intercept, store or analyze, in any way, the communications of millions of individuals? The shows host claimed that Snowden revolutionized the world by leaking the information about American secret services before he appeared via video link. We dont have a mass system of such interception, and according to our law it cannot exist. But — just like President Obama and other US officials — Putin leaves himself plenty of wiggle room on the issue.