The 15-member family of Pentacostalists who arrived here yesterday from the Soviet Union have been granted 90-day tourist visas but said they plan to apply for permanent resident status.
Pyotr Vaschenko, 55, and his 54 year-old wife Avgustina, along with their 12 children, a daughter-in-law and a dog, arrived here after a more than 22 year struggle to immigrate from the Soviet Union. They joined a daughter, Lidiya, who emigrated here last year.
The well publicized plight of the Vashchenkos came after five members of the family slipped by Soviet policemen on the sidewalk in front of the United States Embassy in Moscow and sought asylum there five years ago, claiming religious persecution by the Soviet authorities.
Although they are not Jews, the Vashchenkos came here out of religious convictions. The Pentacostalists are members of a Protestant fundamentalist sect that stresses direct inspiration by the Holy Spirits.
Late in 1981, Lidiya, 32, went on a hunger strike to draw attention to the plight of those in asylum. In January 1982 she left the Embassy for medical treatment. Last March, Lidiya was suddenly summoned to the visa office and told to fill out an application to emigrate. She arrived in Israel April 6.
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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.
