Jewish sources in the Soviet Union reported today that 14 Jews went to the reception hall of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet in Moscow to hand in applications to release them from Soviet citizenship on the grounds that they all wished to emigrate to Israel. They pointed out in their applications that they had been unable to obtain the necessary forms for the renunciation of citizenship from the ovir or any other government agency. They had been told the issue was not important enough.
Officials at the reception hall said they would pass the applications to the Ministry of Interior. Among those who want to renounce their Soviet citizenship are Valery Kryzhak and his wife, Valeria, Lev Kogan, Lev Gendin, Michael Goldblat, Boris Tsitlionok and Leonid Tsipin.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.