Rep. Bella S. Abzug (D-L NY) announced today she has received word from Uri Podriadchik, of Riga, that he has finally been allowed to leave the Soviet Union, and has arrived in Vienna on route to Israel, Podriadchik, who lived in Riga and fought five years for the right to emigrate, had been issued his exit visa on Yom Kippur eve. Rep. Abzug had interceded in the case at the request of Podriadchik’s mother, whom she met in New York in May. The Congresswoman sent pleas to Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin and Vladimir Obidin, Moscow’s chief of visas, when authorities denied Podriadchik the right to attend his mother’s funeral in Israel in August. Podriadchik wired his thanks from Vienna to Rep. Abzug for her efforts.
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.
