A Bid for Freedom

On June 15, a group of criminals, trying to seize a scheduled airplane were arrested at Smolny Airport. Investigations are in progress. It is almost four years since this small and at the time somewhat insignificant Item appeared in Vecherny Leningrad. Since then, the so-called “group of          criminals” have become the martyred heroes of the … Read more

The Release of the Panovs

If Valery and Galina Panov arrive in Vienna today as scheduled, it will be the greatest day of their lives for them and for at least six London women. In early 1972, three avid theatre-goers, Pam Manson, Rosemary Winkeley and Joan Dale met and decided that someone, somewhere must do something for the well-known stars … Read more

Tyranny does not like publicity

A concerted KGB campaign to muzzle the voice of Soviet Jews is increasing in momentum. Over the past couple of weeks, dozens of telephone lines, belonging to Jewish activists, have been disconnected. Last Friday, Moscow journalist, Yevgeny Baras, was warned by the KGB that if his telephone was used for international calls, measures would be … Read more

Refuseniks in Novosibirsk

At the beginning of April, Yuri and Anna Berkovsky were arrested in the Siberian town of Novosibirsk. Since then no word has been heard from them. A few hours after their arrest, the police handed their five year old daughter to her grandmother. the charge against the Berkovskys appears to be one of speculation. they … Read more

Purim in the USSR 1974

The festival of Purim was celebrated by many Soviet Jews last week. For them the figure of Haman had a more modern connotation. As Ovsei Gelman from Tbilisi, Georgia, put it in a message to a friend in London: On the eve of Purim, which symbolises the vain efforts of all enemies of the Jewish … Read more