Love is stronger than the KGB: how a girl escaped from the USSR for her American husband
'15.02.2021'
Source: Rambler
There were many daring escapes in the history of the USSR. Some fled from the regime, others from the Iron Curtain, but the most famous escape for love was only one. A love story that even the KGB could not stop, tells Rambler.
Betrayal of the motherland
Marina and Alex met in 1983. Philology students from America came to the Moscow Institute for exchange. One of them turned out to be Alex Worfington. The girl was brought up in the strict traditions of the USSR and drove away from herself the thought of a relationship with a foreigner, but over time she resigned herself to feelings.
As it turned out later, the American also did not remain indifferent to the young Muscovite. The young people began an affair, which they immediately learned about. Marina was even summoned “for a conversation” by the KGB, but they did not threaten, but simply asked about her friend from the United States.
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The feelings of the young people were absolutely innocent, but the authorities decided differently. They didn’t renew his student visa and had to leave the country. The lovers did not despair and decided to sign, but this did not become a reason for Alex to stay in the country. When he flew away, Marina was full of hope and was going to follow him to another continent, but this was also refused "because of disagreements between the two countries."
Outlaw
When the university found out that a Muscovite had married an American, she was kicked out of the Komsomol and educational institution. They did not take a job either, and she began to engage in blackmail. All this time Alex was trying to do something from the outside: he turned to politicians and journalists. The first did not care, while the others were only interested in her as a “victim of the KGB”. Even the letters that Alex wrote to Marina came to her open. Then she decided to run away.
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Escape and new life
After saving up some money on the black market, she found a trucker who was ready to take her to the border with Finland. There she found a guide who helped illegal immigrants to cross the border for a lot of money.
For several days they crossed the border through forests and swamps, fearing both Soviet and Finnish border guards. Despite this, everything went well and Marina was reunited with her husband.
Alex brought Marina to the American embassy and registered her as a refugee. The couple moved to the United States, where the Soviet citizen studied at the university and began to work as a translator.
The couple had two children who were in Russia several times. In 2007, based on this story, Elvira Baryakina's book "Conspiracy of Silence" was published.
