Mr. Speaker. "Alone in Moscow." that is the fate of longtime refusenik Lev Blitshtein. who ought to be celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary on August 8 with his beloved wife Bums in the secure circle of his family that Includes a son and a daughter. both married this past year. and an expected grandchild. But it has been nearly 4 years since Blitshtein last saw his wife when she and their son Boris were finally given permission to emigrate from the Soviet Union in 1975. Their daughter Galina followed 6 months later. and today the family is settled on Long Island. N.Y. Forbidden by the Soviet OVIR authorities to emigrate because he knows "too much about the time of storage of canned meats" and "how to make sausage without meat." Blitshtein endured the humility of a divorce unwanted by both partners in a brave effort to allow his family to seek refuge and freedom without him. Stripped of his position as chief administrator in the Ministry of Meat and Dairy and without meaningful work. Blitshtein. age 49. waits and suffers silently as he longs to overcome his governments forced separation of husband and wife. parent and child.
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emigrate