Alexander is now being held by Soviet authorities on charges of "draft evasion." charges that are of questionable validity. Upon his graduation from the Moscow Technical Institute in 1977 Alexander. then 22 years old. was notified that he would be conscripted into the Soviet army in the fall. Conscription means 2 years of active service followed by 510 years of being refused permission to emigrate. on the grounds of being in possession of state secrets. Alexander. who had applied for an emigration visa more than 4 years previously. knew that entering the armed services would forfeit for several years any opportunity to leave the Soviet Union. Faced with this dilemma. Alexander went into hiding in Moscow.
Keywords matched
emigrate emigration visa