235,000 Soviets Emigrated in 1989, Double ’88 Figure, Newspaper Says
Nearly a quarter of a million people took advantage of liberalized travel laws to leave the Soviet Union permanently last year--more than double the number that left in 1988, the Moscow newspaper Trud reported Thursday.
Trud said 235,000 Soviet citizens settled abroad last year, up from 108,000 in the previous year.
In addition to those leaving for good, more than 2 million Soviet citizens traveled abroad in 1989--up from 261,000 in 1987. The 1988 figures in this category were not available.
The newspaper did not break down emigrants by nationality. However, tens of thousands of Jews and members of other minorities have been leaving the Soviet Union under the new travel rules.
Trud cited information supplied by a Foreign Ministry official and quoted him as saying that the figures reflect President Mikhail S. Gorbachev’s attention to humanitarian issues.
Visa formalities have been simplified, and restrictions arbitrarily applied in the past to applicants said to be privy to state secrets have been eased. Anyone refused a visa is legally entitled to appeal to a special parliamentary commission.
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