Otkaznik

[Kiril] Khenkin said in a talk in his apartment that he can’t speak for all the otkazniki, but that his case is “fairly typical” of Jews denied exit visas for what they consider arbitrary reasons.

Out of 72 Otkazniki families listed in Moscow (“Otkazniki” is a term for someone who has been refused a visa), a total of 23 are said to have left the Soviet Union already. The situation is said to be less favorable for Otkazniki in the provinces.

She also feared what might happen to her if her application for an exit visa were to be refused. The lot of the Jewish otkazniki, or “refuseniks,” was not an enviable one.