Fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden has left the Moscow airport where he was in limbo for more than five weeks, after Russia granted him asylum.
He was secretly whisked away from the airport in a taxi, leaving his lawyer to reveal that he was safe from being forced to return to the U-S for at least the next 12 months, prompting international fury.
Edward Snowden, the man whose leaks to the British newspaper, The Guardian, about US surveillance caused shockwaves around the world, is free - for now.
Mr Snowden slipped out of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport in an operation overseen by his Russian lawyer, but unnoticed by the hordes of media trying to follow his every move.
The former National Security Agency contractor had been stuck in the airport ever since he revealed his identity in leaking confidential information about the US surveillance program.
He had been staying in the transit zone since he flew in from Hong Kong on June 23rd.
Until now, he'd never formally crossed the Russian border.
He left the airport with WikiLeaks' legal advisor, Sarah Harrison.
Mr Snowden's lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, says the 30 year old's whereabouts will remain a secret.
"What concerns his place of residence, he will choose it himself, he can live in (an) hotel or an apartment. As he's one of the most wanted people on earth, he'll be making sure his place of residence is absolutely safe."
WikiLeaks has released a statement saying Mr Snowden thanks Russia for providing him with political asylum - saying the law is "winning".
But the US government has labelled the move as extremely disappointing.
White House spokesman, Jay Carney says Mr Snowden should be extradited to the US so he can face charges of espionage.
"Mr Snowden is not a whistle-blower. He is accused of leaking classified information and has been charged with three felony counts and he should be returned to the United States."
Russia says ties between the two countries will not suffer because of what it has labelled as the "relatively insignificant" Snowden case.
Russia doesn't have a formal extradition agreement with the US, and is therefore not compelled to return Mr Snowden even after his one-year asylum protection runs out.
President Vladmir Putin had previously said that Mr Snowden could stay in Russia, only if he wouldn't continue to harm the US.
It's unknown if this is a condition placed on the successful asylum application.
Mr Snowden's entry into Russia comes as The Guardian newspaper revealed further leaks from the NSA contractor, that the U-S paid at least $170 million to the British spy agency GCHQ to secure access to Britian's intelligence gathering programs.
It has also published what it has called a X-Keyscore presentation, which suggests that as of 2008, the NSA was gathering data from at least 150 websites around the world, including from private Facebook chats.
It involves what the NSA has reportedly called a "Five Eyes" information sharing network, which involves the US, Canada, the UK, New Zealand and Australia.
Mr Snowden's father, Lon, says he's proud of his son for doing the right thing.
And he's told the BBC he's grateful to Russia.
"From my perspective as a father who loves his son, as any parent who loves their child, I am again, thankful, for the Russian people, President Vladmir Putin, Anatoly Kucherena, for the courage, the strength, the humanity, that they have demonstrated in what I believe is this noble action of protecting my son and keeping him safe - it's the honourable thing to do."
