Kukk had been sentenced to a 2year term in a Soviet labor camp for allegedly slandering the Soviet political and social system. but his real crime. in the eyes of the rulers of the Soviet empire. was his Estonian patriotism and his public disenchantment with communism. In 1978. this esteemed member of the Soviet scientific community resigned from the Communist Party in protest against Soviet repression in Estonia. Because of this. I need hardly add. he was unemployed. In the summer of 1979. Dr. Kukk and his wife applied to emigrate from this socalled workers paradise and were refused permission to do so. In a short time. Jur Kukk was hauled into court for criticizing the Soviet Government. both in print and in his oral statements. and for calling his plight to the attention of foreign correspondents.
Keywords matched
emigrate