The former National Security Agency systems analyst got a standing ovation Saturday when the statuette and diploma were put on an empty chair during the award ceremony in the western Norway town of Molde.
He got the prize, which includes 100,000 Norwegian kroner ($12,000), "for his work on the important issue of the right of privacy."
Snowden says the United States "suffers its image, its reputation every year that it is standing against human rights," the Aspciated Press reported.
If he leaves Russia, he could be extradited to the US, where he faces charges for having leaked details of the once-secret surveillance programs.