Apple’s virtual Russian staffers.
Snowden
FORTUNE — Edward Snowden, on the lam from several three-letter U.S. government agencies (DOJ, NSA, CIA, FBI, for starters) entered Russia from Hong Kong over the weekend without really entering it.
According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Snowden is hiding out in the international transit area of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport — which isn’t, technically, in Russia.
Apple (AAPL), which Snowden named as one of nine U.S. companies whose servers the National Security Agency somehow tapped into, has also entered Russia without really entering it.
After 15 years of selling its devices to Russians through third-party vendors, Apple on Tuesday opened its first online store in the world’s largest country (by area).
But Apple still hasn’t opened a brick-and-mortar store in Russia, and its online emporium is, according to The Verge, only available to residents of two cities: Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Siberia and whatever federal facility the U.S. has earmarked for Snowden will have to wait.
Thanks for 9to5Mac for spotting store.apple.com/ru.