Bronislava Tonkonogaya. who came to see me asking for support in obtaining freedom for her husband Gregory Gimpelson. The story of the Gimpelson family is one of years of long sufferings. of desperate attempts to escape from the Soviet system. a story that is still going on and is likely to continue to be a tragic one unless we speak out concertedly against the inhumane way the Soviet Government is treating this family. Gregory Gimpelson decided to emigrate with his family in 1972. Until then he had had access to classified information at the Central Research Institute for Ship Automation. Since he would not be eligible for emigration for another 5 years. the Gimpelson family waited until 1977 to file their application. But even after 5 years. during which time he had had no access to secrets. they were still denied emigration for security reasons. This put them in a desperate situation. if they had to wait for another year or even longer their son. Alexander Gimpelson. would have been drafted for military service. This would have postponed their emigration for almost another decade. There was only one way out of this vicious circle. Bronislava Tonkonogaya and Gregory Gimpelson decided to divorce. and soon after that Bronislava Tonkonogaya and her son Alexander were granted emigration visas. That was in 1977. Since then. Gregory Gimpelson has been applying for emigration to join his family. So far he has been refused three times. He has been informed. through unofficial sources. that he will not be allowed to emigrate until 1990 because of his prior access to security information. His former employer. the Central Research Institute for Ship Automation in Leningrad. for unknown reasons has submitted false information on his access to classified information to the local OVIR office. Gregory Gimpelson has not had any access to classified information since 1972.
Keywords matched
emigrate emigration visas