(CNN) -- In Russian, there is an old saying: "An uninvited guest is worse than a Tatar," referring to the country's medieval invaders from the East. Although Edward Snowden's lawyer calls him "the most wanted man on the planet," it's clear that Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, would rather he were just about anywhere else. After five weeks in Sheremetyevo Airport's transit zone, the NSA leaker was allowed to leave on Thursday under a grant of temporary asylum valid for one year. A taxi spirited him to an undisclosed Moscow location, where Putin's Federal Security Service will undoubtedly be watching him closely.
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Daniel Treisman says Putin often takes anti-American stances to shore up his support
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He writes that the Snowden affair has put Putin in a difficult bind
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He says Putin can't be seen to be subservient to U.S. but doesn't want a fight
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Treisman: U.S. needs Russian support on some key international issues
Russian intelligence must have known already that the @placeholder was comprehensively monitoring telephone and Internet traffic.
He cannot extradite @placeholder to the U.S. without looking subservient.
If Putin honors his pledge to stop Snowden harming what Putin called his "@placeholder partners," then at least further leaks will be prevented.