Who is Edward Snowden?

(CNN) -- He's a high school dropout who worked his way into the most secretive computers in U.S. intelligence as a defense contractor -- only to blow those secrets wide open by spilling details of classified surveillance programs.

Now, Edward Snowden might never live in the United States as a free man again. Where he may end up was a source of global speculation Sunday after he flew from Hong Kong to Russia, his ultimate destination unknown to most.

Snowden has revealed himself as the source of documents outlining a massive effort by the U.S. National Security Agency to track cell phone calls and monitor the e-mail and Internet traffic of virtually all Americans.

Snowden, 29, said he just wanted the public to know what the government was doing. more