Agreed. Jailing Pussy Riot was/is definitely a pursuit of political persecution. Well, technically, Russia acted very lawfully in this case - they did not have

Agreed. Jailing Pussy Riot was/is definitely a pursuit of political persecution. Well, technically, Russia acted very lawfully in this case - they did not have an extradition treaty with the U.S., and Snowden sought political asylum. I'd like to think that behind the scenes, Putin just enjoyed poking a stick in Obama's eye, but I'm sure he had more rational reasons for resisting the U.S. than just personal pleasure.