No Soviet Jew who desires to maintain his Jewish identity is immune from persecution. While wellknown refuseniks such as Yuli Edelshtein and the Khassin family are often subject to the harshest measures. even average families. such as the Ostrirovs of Odessa are denied permission to leave the country. To Soviet officials. no pretext is too flimsy to be used as grounds for denying an exit visa. Yuli Edelshteln. a 27yearold resident of Moscow. was denied a visa because his father allegedly had access to "secret materials" despite the fact that Yuli had not seen his father in 20 years. After his application was denied the KGB began to harass him. forcing him to leave his job as an English teacher. He was forced to work as a freelance artists model to support himself.