( CNN ) -- Edward Snowden is hoping to stay in Russia a little , or perhaps a lot , longer . The former National Security Agency whistleblower , who leaked secret information about U.S. spying programs , has formally requested that Russia 's government extend his temporary asylum , Russian state news reported Wednesday . The asylum request was filed with the Moscow branch of the Federal Migration Service , said Snowden attorney Anatoly Kucherena , according to state-run Itar-Tass and RIA Novosti . As to how long Snowden might extend his stay , RIA Novosti reported that Kucherena said , `` We wo n't say yet in what status we would like to receive the extension because that decision is up to the Federal [ Migration ] Service . '' Kucherena noted that Snowden 's temporary asylum in Russia ends on July 31 . He 'd been holed up at a Moscow airport for five weeks before the Russian government granted asylum for one year on August 1 . Since that time , Snowden has kept busy working for a Russian website and speaking out about the disclosures about the U.S. government 's spying programs and processes that he helped make public . Snowden 's disclosures in 2013 made him in an icon among those who praised him for risking his future to expose these secrets and a villain among those who accused him of being a lawbreaker who betrayed the United States . The former government information technology contractor collected information on spy programs -- in which the NSA mined phone and Internet metadata from thousands of people inside and outside of the United States -- and exposed the programs to the media . U.S. authorities have charged him with espionage and theft of government property . Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton commented on Snowden 's case in an interview this week with the German magazine Der Spiegel . `` I think he is a poor messenger for the message that he 's trying to take credit for , '' she told the magazine . `` I think he could have provoked the debate in our country without stealing and distributing material that was government property and was of some consequence , '' Clinton said . Opinion : A year after Snowden , the real costs of NSA surveillance . Edward Snowden 's interview : 10 things we learned . Review board finds potential for abuses in NSA surveillance . CNN 's Sara Mazloumsaki contributed to this report .
Snowden leaks info on Russia spy programs ; he 's charged in the U.S. July 31 , Russia granted him temporary asylum ; the term expires Last summer . His lawyer says Edward Snowden made a formal request to extend his asylum in Russia .