WASHINGTON — Edward J. Snowden said that he still considered himself to be an American patriot even after leaking thousands of classified documents, and that he was frustrated to be “stuck in a place” — Russia — that did so little to protect individual rights when he was trying to help protect American freedoms.

Mr. Snowden made the comments in an hourlong interview on Wednesday night with Brian Williams of NBC News in which he tried to justify his actions and explain why he had accepted refuge from President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. He said he was alarmed that the Russian government was cracking down on freedom of the press, calling it “deeply unfair.”

He said he had never met Mr. Putin. “I have no relationship with the Russian government,” Mr. Snowden said. “I’m not supported by them.”

“I am not a spy” for the Kremlin, he added, “which is the real question.”

Even if Mr. Putin’s government asked him to hand over documents, Mr. Snowden said, he had none to give. “I didn’t take anything to Russia,” he said. When Mr. Williams asked if Mr. Snowden could remotely access any of the documents he stole, he replied, “No, I don’t have any control.”