Shcharansky Sees Family; 1st Time Since ’78

Anatoly Shcharansky was reunited with his family today for the first time since he was sent to a Soviet prison in 1978.

Shcharansky, 38, was freed in an East-West prisoner exchange last February, and five members of his family were allowed to emigrate from the Soviet Union today. The reunion occurred in the privacy of a Vienna airport lounge before all six flew to Israel.

“I feel good now. I’ve seen Tolya,” Shcharansky’s 78-year-old mother, Ida Milgrom, said after the meeting.

Milgrom; her elder son, Leonid; his wife, Raya, and their sons, Alexander, 14, and Boris, 1, arrived on a flight of the Soviet airline Aeroflot.

They were subjected to rigorous customs checks in Moscow and seen off by 30 well-wishers.

Convicted of Spying

Their emigration was part of the February exchange agreement. Anatoly Shcharansky had been convicted of spying for the United States but he and the U.S. government denied the charges.

Shcharansky lives in Israel with his wife, Avital, who was allowed to leave the Soviet Union several years ago and had traveled the world seeking support for his release. He flew to Vienna shortly before the Aeroflot jet arrived.

When asked for comment about his family’s emigration, the Jewish human rights activist said in English: “(The Soviets) wanted to get something for this. I hope they get nothing.”

It was the first time all the Shcharanskys had been together since Anatoly was sentenced. Milgrom said in Moscow that she had seen her younger son only six times, on rare prison visits.

Feeling ‘Wonderful’

“Well, here we are in Vienna,” she said as she stepped off the plane smiling. Did she ever think the day would come? “No,” she replied.

She said “wonderful” in Russian when asked how she felt, adding that the most important thing was to “see my son.”

Leonid Shcharansky, 39, begged off a barrage of questions with the comment: “I am very, very tired, especially the last few days in the Soviet Union.”

On the flight from the Soviet capital, they were relieved about the departure but not exuberant. There was a sense of anticipation and some apprehension about the future.

“You leave behind a lot, really a lot,” Leonid said. “First, at least, we’ll go to Israel. But we’ll see after that. We’re just starting out in the West. We lived here for 40 years, and now we’ll see what happens there.”