2. Statement of Viktor Belenko 3. Statement of Reverend Monsignor Nicholas Di- Marzio, Director, U.S. Catholic Conference. 4. Statement of Gerald Guensberg 5. Statement of Jerry E. Hutchinson Vice-Chancellor, The "Soviet Bloc Defections: Statistical Treatment," by Etienne 8. "Return To The Motherland: A Study On Redefections and Reemigration to Soviet Bloc Countries" by Etienne M. 100 140 28 131 351 7 161 119 338 86 100 EXHIBITS Introduced on page Appears on page 19. 17. Statement of Vlad Rudolph-Shabinsky 18. Statement of Zdzislaw M. Rurarz.... Statement of Constantine Sidamon-Eristoff, Chairman of the Board of Directors, the Tolstoy Foundation 12 12 12 12 20. Statement of Andrey Sorokun 12 21. Statement of Mark Wyatt....... 22. Statement of Karl D. Zukerman, Executive Vice President of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.. 12 23. Pamphlet: "U.S. Army Russian Institute" 12 24. Pamphlet: "Soviet POW's in Afghanistan: Mr. President, Is This All We Deserve" by Ludmilla Thorne..... 2222 222 22 2 711 720 777 12 796 810 917 12 925 940 25. "A Soviet defector tells why she left." Three day series of 26. "Soldier's execution triggered defection," the Washington 27. "Red Army defector denounces Afghan war," the Washington Times, October 8, 1987, submitted by Senator Gordon J. Humphrey 28. "Report of Donovan Commission of IRC on Communist Redefection Campaigns," submitted by Leo Cherne, Chairman, International Rescue Committee....... 29. "The National Council for Soviet and East European 30. Short talking paper submitted by Vladimir N. Sakharov. 32. Letter from Robert G. Bradshaw, Jr., Colonel, USAF Vice 33. Series of Soviet articles on defectors, submitted by Vladimir N. Sakharov 12 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S HANDLING OF SOVIET AND COMMUNIST BLOC DEFECTORS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1987 U.S. SENATE, PERMANENT SUBCOMMITTEE ON INVESTIGATIONS, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met at 9:33 a.m. in room SD-342, under authority of S. Res. 80, Section 13, dated January 28, 1987, Hon. Sam Nunn, chairman of the subcommittee, presiding. Members of the subcommittee present: Senator Sam Nunn, Democrat, Georgia; Senator Jim Sasser, Democrat, Tennessee; Senator William V. Roth, Jr., Republican, Delaware; and Senator William S. Cohen, Republican, Maine. Members of the professional staff present: Eleanore J. Hill, Chief Counsel and Staff Director; John F. Sopko, Deputy Chief Counsel; Mary D. Robertson, Chief Clerk; Kathleen A. Dias, Executive Assistant to the Chief Counsel; David B. Buckley, Investigator; Cynthia Comstock, Staff Assistant; David Munson, Investigator; Harriet J. McFaul, Counsel; Harold Lippman, Investigator; Daniel F. Rinzel, Chief Counsel to the Minority; Mary K. Vinson, Staff Investigator to the Minority; Marilyn Munson, Secretary; Declan Cashman, Secretary; Evelyn Boyd (Senator Sasser); Rick Goodman (Senator Pryor); Allie Giles (Senator Levin); Natalie Bocock (Senator Cohen); Jeff Landry (Senator Stevens); Lori Beth Feld (Senator Trible); Marianne McGettigan (Senator Rudman); Jim Dykstra (Intelligence Committee); and Richard Dill. [Senators present at convening of hearing: Senators Nunn and Cohen.] [The letter of authority follows:] U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS, Pursuant to Rule 5 of the Rules of Procedure of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Governmental Affairs, permission is hereby granted for the Chairman, or any Member of the Subcommittee as designated by the Chairman, to conduct open and/or executive session hearings without a quorum of two members for the administration of oaths and the taking of testimony in connection with hearings on the Federal Government's Handling of Soviet and Communist Bloc Defectors, to be held on October 8, 9 and 21, 1987. SAM NUNN, Chairman. WILLIAM V. ROTH, Jr., Ranking Minority Member. OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR NUNN Senator NUNN. I have had a rather rough bout of something in the last few days, so my voice is not very strong this morning. But we will begin the hearings, and Senator Cohen, we welcome you here this morning. Senator Roth is going to be here in a few minutes; but he told us to begin in his absence. This morning, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations begins three days of hearings on the Government's Handling of Soviet and Communist bloc defectors. With these hearings, Congress will be conducting its first comprehensive public overview of the handling of defectors. I think it is fitting that these hearings occur during our Nation's celebration of the Bicentennial of our Constitution. Supported by our Constitution, our country has stood for 200 years as a safe haven for defectors, whether from religious, political or economic persecution; whether from Communist or Fascist dictatorships; and regardless of backgrounds. Today, we focus on a small but important portion of the many political refugees who seek safe haven on our shores, namely, those who flee communist totalitarianism. This phenomena is as old as the Russian revolution. Since 1917, people have fled the USSR in violation of Soviet law and against the wishes of the Soviet government. In their flight for freedom, they have crossed borders, jumped ship or failed to return from a trip abroad. Whatever the circumstances of their escape, they share a desire for political asylum in the West, and they also share a common dissatisfaction with the Soviet and other Communist governments they have left behind. I have had the honor and pleasure of talking to some of these freedom seekers in the course of this and other investigations. Most tell a similar story of facing the irrefutable fact that they could no longer live under the totalitarian regimes of their homelands. One defector who will testify before us this week is Dr. Alexander Ushakov, formerly a professor at the Odessa Maritime Institute. Because of his criticisms of the communist system, he was arrested by the KGB in 1984. Briefly released from jail pending formal charges and trial, Dr. Ushakov evaded KGB surveillance and fled Odessa. Arriving at the Caucasus mountains, he spent the next 20 days hiking over this perilous mountain range to the Turkish border. He literally walked his way to freedom over a very dangerous terrain. One of the most sobering aspects of Dr. Ushakov's flight to freedom was his own shock when he arrived at the Soviet-Turkish border. As I believe you will hear when he testifies tomorrow, Dr. Ushakov was both outraged and saddened to find out that the tops of fences and other border obstacles faced inward, toward Russia not outward, toward Turkey. This sight finally cystallized in his mind the nature of the system he was attempting to escape-a system more concerned with keeping its citizens in than with keeping foreigners out. Although I cite Dr. Ushakov's remarkable escape to show to what lengths individuals will go to defect, the main focus of these |