London Jewish Chronicle
Georgi Samoilovich, who arrived in London on Sunday for medical treatment at the Royal Marsden Hospital, won’t have to return to the Soviet Union after his cancer treatment is completed.
Samoilovich was told April 3 by OVIR, the Soviet emigration office, that not only would he be allowed to go to London for treatment but that he and his family can emigrate. His wife, Vera, and his son, Viktor, are expected to join him here later.
Eventually, the Samoilovich family hopes to immigrate to the United States.
Last August, it was discovered that Samoilovich was suffering from lymphoma, a tumor of the lymphoid tissue. He had chemotherapy in Moscow at the Oncological Center, but demanded to be allowed to go to Britain for more treatment.
The Soviet authorities objected to issuing him an exit permit on the grounds that from 1952 till 1972 he had worked at the research center of the Soviet Ministry of Defense and “was involved in developing and testing military equipment which still constitutes a state secret.”
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.
