Not sure where 'here' is, where the US is considered on par with Russia, but if that is the case it definitely isn't something to preface comments with in a case like this. Snowden's a US citizen accused of crimes by the US claiming to have acted in our nation's interest. There is zero doubt he violated US law, so he needs to convince people he was morally required to break the law, and acted in the interest of others against his own interests. He's not doing a great job of that right now in the eyes of many of the same Americans who do confess serious concerns about what he exposed, not as much as if he were standing back straight, shoulders lifted in front of the firing squad, so to speak.

Furthermore nobody is really in a position to coerce the US into changing its policies except US voters, so in pragmatism-land, where actions are taken with regard to realistic estimation of their success, Snowden does not want to do anything which makes US voters doubt his patriotism. Foreign support won't much help, and can hurt, especially coming form places like Russia, which even if you think isn't worse then the US, is not an opinion shared by most US voters, the people who - right or wrong - determine US policy.

Also Snowden is still regularly in the news, here anyway, not headlining the big cable shows every night but a big feature on a regular basis.