For 3 years the families have resisted all pressure to leave. They have not been able to see other members of their families although several of their relatives have been persecuted for the actions of "the Seven." The eldest Vashchenko son. Sasha. who was sentenced to and served a 3year term in a labor camp for his beliefs and who was beaten into unconsciousness on several occasions by Soviet guards. has reported since his release. increased coercion on the part of the KGB to make him renounce his family and condemn their efforts to obtain visas. The Vashchenko and Chmykhalov families have suffered through psychiatric hospitals. prisons and labor camps. On January 29. 1981.