Goldfarb ‘Misses His Daughter,’ Son Says : Dissident Wants to Return to Moscow

Freed Soviet dissident David Goldfarb--who was allowed to leave his homeland last October after an eight-year battle--has decided he wants to return to Moscow because “he misses his daughter,” his son said Sunday.

Alex Goldfarb declined to discuss the matter further but said a news conference has been scheduled today in his Manhattan apartment.

Alex Goldfarb did say his father had not yet applied for permission to return to the Soviet Union and was not sure if he would be allowed to go back to Moscow.

He said he “presumes” that David Goldfarb will return with his wife, Cecilia.

“He misses his daughter,” the dissident’s son said.

Daughter Can’t Leave

David Goldfarb’s daughter, Olga, 34, and her husband and two children have been unable to emigrate, the son said.

In a letter to the New York Times published Saturday, the dissident wrote: “As the beneficiary of a miraculous and highly publicized release, I wish to testify that the privilege is as short-lived as the publicity.

“My daughter Olga in Moscow, who was granted a trip to New York shortly after my arrival, was not allowed to visit me again when I was in the hospital last month. An official at the Moscow visa office told her in no uncertain terms that the special treatment is over,” he said.

“An exit visa is still a rare privilege, granted through the intervention of an influential advocate,” he said.

Eight-Year Battle

A prominent geneticist, David Goldfarb was allowed to leave his homeland Oct. 16 after an eight-year battle.

He and his wife were turned over to Occidental Petroleum Chairman Armand Hammer, who ferried them to America aboard his corporate jet.

The ailing Goldfarb, who was 68 when he came to the United States, was taken immediately to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, where he was treated for lung cancer, severe diabetes and related ailments and released four months later.

Goldfarb recently has been confined to a wheelchair, his son said.

Goldfarb, who lost his left leg in the 1942 Battle of Stalingrad, had been unable to use prosthetic devices because of diabetes complications. He was using an artificial limb and a walker when he left the hospital.

Alex Goldfarb said his father was taken back to the hospital last month after suffering a mild stroke, but recovered completely.