A Plea for Help

From her cell in Butyrskaya Prison in Moscow, an American named Ruth Ikal wrote a letter to Nicholai Yezhov, chief of the secret police, to ask for his help. Her tone was respectful, obsequious. Arrested during the Stalinist purges, she had been held prisoner for six months, subjected to brutal interrogations. Her husband, Arnold, who had worked as a spy for the Soviet government, had also been arrested and would soon die in a Soviet prison camp. Secret police officials preserved her letter in their files. Here, edited for length, are her words.

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June 6, 1938

Dear Comrade Yezhov,

I regret very much that I must trouble you, for I realize how very busy you must be. However, I am faced with problems which force me to ask your help. I beg your indulgence.

As you may know, I am the American wife of Arnold Ikal, and not guilty of any crime, but merely the victim of circumstances. My family are in the United States, including my daughter. I left them rather abruptly and with no provisions for the future. Both my parents suffer from ill health. My daughter is only 8 years old. I last saw them on Oct. 10. They have heard that I am in prison but they do not know why. I know that they are all very much worried. I am very anxious indeed to communicate with them to let them know that I am well.

The investigator has been most kind and tried very hard to make things as pleasant as possible for me and I therefore feel deeply indebted to him and the organization he represents. I have been shown such remarkable human understanding that for the first time I really feel proud to be a member of the human race. One does not meet such comradely love in the United States. I therefore hesitate to complain, in view of my overwhelming gratitude for all the kindness, generosity and thoughtfulness I have experienced here.

I last conversed with the investigator March 16, almost three months ago. I am alone (which by the way I prefer), I have no books nor any other occupation. My occupation is thinking very unhappy thoughts. . . . Would you please try to arrange a meeting between the Investigator and me, and I am very anxious to know if I may communicate with my folks. . . .

There is another problem which I must come to you with. It is about conditions here on my floor with my attendants. They have some peculiar notion about me. I think they believe that I am guilty of some dastardly crime and bourgeois. I know their attitude and behavior is not due to any lack of courtesy or respect on my part. They play tricks, bark at me, sneer and jeer, which I would overlook, but they go further. They actually tamper with my food, ignore my requests and do so many, many mean little spiteful things. . . .

Can I ask you how long I have to stay here? I didn’t press this matter during the investigation, because I only wanted to help, being in such an unhappy situation. Yet I still very much want to be free, as I am sure you understand. Not long ago the investigator promised to bring my daughter to me, and also some of my furniture. Do you know if that is still a promise? The furniture of course is not that important. It would be of course a piece of New York and would remind me of my mother and the rest and would keep me from missing home, but I understand that it is not possible to do. Most important is that I see my daughter. . . .

You must understand that I don’t want to run away, besides that, I don’t speak Russian. I would have nowhere to go, I have no friends here. Besides that, I am watched all the time. I would be very grateful to be able to open the window more often.

I want to thank you again for everything you have done for me. When I felt my world fall out from under me, there were friends who gave me their help, which saved me from falling into despair and gave me the strength to face the future. It will always be in my memory, and will never disappear.

Sincerely yours,

Ruth Ikal

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Twenty years later, in the late 1950s, Ruth Ikal was still asking if she could go back home to New York. That is where her official file ends, her final fate left unrecorded.

Associated Press