Soviets to Let 8 Americans’ Spouses Leave

The Kremlin, in a clear effort to defuse the human rights issue before next week’s Geneva summit, disclosed plans Friday to permit the emigration of 10 Soviet citizens, including eight who are married to Americans, the State Department announced.

Soviet Ambassador Anatoly F. Dobrynin delivered the word during a late-afternoon meeting with Secretary of State George P. Shultz. At about the same time, the Soviet Foreign Ministry informed the U.S. Embassy in Moscow of the decision.

“We have received indications that the Soviets plan to give exit visas to eight separated spouses of American citizens, a divided family member (other than a husband or wife) and a longstanding dual-national case,” the State Department announcement said. “If these cases are indeed resolved, as a result of Soviet assurances, we would view this as a welcome step.”

Separated Over 10 Years

The department said that some of the couples have been separated for more than 10 years.

The first word of the Soviet decision came from Sen. Paul Simon (D-Ill.) who has led congressional efforts to put the issue of divided spouses on the agenda for President Reagan’s meeting with Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev.

David Carle, Simon’s spokesman, said Moscow’s decision was “unquestionably part of the atmosphere of summitry.” But he said the senator would not drop the issue until all 25 known divided couples are reunited and four engaged couples are allowed to marry.

It was unclear whether the visas would be granted before or after the start of the Geneva summit next Tuesday. But an Administration official said all of the indications are that the reunions will take place “sooner rather than later.”

The State Department said it would not make public the names of the individuals Friday night because all American family members must be notified first.

Exchange Program Student

Carle, however, identified two of the spouses as Alexei Lodisev, who married Sandra Gubin of Kalamazoo, Mich., while she was part of an international student exchange program in the Soviet city of Kiev, and Irina McClellan, wife of Woodford McClellan of Charlottesville, Va. He said others were reluctant to have their names made public until their spouses actually are on their way to the United States.

Lodisev, a computer programmer who now works in a recording studio, had been denied permission to emigrate to the United States on national security grounds because he had taken military courses at a Moscow institute.

An exuberant Gubin said she learned of Lodisev’s release from Michael H. Armacost, undersecretary of state for political affairs, “and burst into tears, much to my embarrassment. To an undersecretary of state, all I can do is cry. . . . It was so exciting.

“But it is also a very bittersweet moment,” she said. “We are all very encouraged that some spouses have been allowed to leave but there still are about 18 left behind. I know these people. I feel terrible for those who haven’t gotten this good news. But I’m hopeful that the Soviets will understand that we have to resolve these cases.”

Gubin and Lodisev were married in April, 1981, while she was working on the dissertation for her Ph.D. in political science and the two last saw each other in September when she made a two-week visit to Kiev. She was to talk to her husband early today.

‘Worked Hard for This Day’

“I worked really hard for this day, and I think I’m entitled to be the first one to tell him,” she said. “But if they’ve already told him, it’s OK.”

Woodford McClellan, in an interview with WJLA-TV in Washington, said, “Imagine you had a huge rock on you for 11 1/2 years and someone just started to take it off.”

Reagan has said repeatedly that he plans to raise human rights issues in his meetings with Gorbachev. In an apparent response to that issue, the Soviets have begun to permit the departure of citizens who previously had been prohibited from leaving the country.

Simon and Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) gathered the signatures of 60 senators and 131 House members on letters to Reagan and Gorbachev to urge that reunification of the families be made a top priority at the summit.

Each year an estimated 60 marriages take place in the Soviet Union between U.S. and Soviet citizens and, in most of the cases, the Soviet partner is allowed to leave the country. Once the Soviet government decides not to permit a citizen married to an American to leave the country, however, it seldom changes its mind.

The State Department said that before this month only three separated spouses had received exit permission over the past year and a half.