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Jewish Family Tricked Kgb; Left. USSR 3 Days Ahead of Schedule

July 11, 1973
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A prominent Jewish emigrant from the Soviet Union related today how he left Russia three days earlier than planned in order to escape the KGB (secret police) which tried to prevent his departure.

Vladimir Segal, who arrived here yesterday with his wife and mother, said he was surprised in his Moscow apartment four days ago by KGB plainclothesmen who ordered him to appear at headquarters the next day to testify. They did not say what he was to testify about.

Segal, a linguist at the Moscow Academy of Science, said he told the KGB men that he was packing to leave for Israel on July 9 but they were, unmoved and he got the impression they intended to prevent his exit, Segal said that he and his fam- ily went immediately to Moscow Airport where they were able to change their flight from July 9 to July 6. They were in Vienna by the time the KGB presumably found out they had left, Segal said.

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