Page 337 - The Mirror of My Soul. Vol. 1

Nicolai Levashov. The Mirror of My Soul. Vol. 1. Born in the USSR

our passports, saying that they were at the American embassy. But when in several days

nothing happened, I become seriously anxious.

It was an error to trust this man, but it was already late and useless scanning him.
At last, on December 23, Monday, exactly one week before our departure, he called and
asked us to come to the building in front of the American embassy at 4 o'clock in the
afternoon. I now began to think that my suspicions about this man were erroneous. I
even started to feel ill at ease, because I thought badly of him and considered that my
scanning of information in this situation was incorrect, that I had become overly
suspicious and began to see an enemy in everyone.
However, my doubts did not last long. When Svetlana and I arrived at the place,
Mironov got into the car and asked to go to the Russian OVIR, because firstly we had to
get our exit visas there! I understood then that Mironov had simply sabotaged our
receiving of the American visa and my scanning did not let me down. So, we went to
64
the Russian OVIR, more precisely the OVIR of the RSFSR and met with the chief. He
listened to us and called an employee, whom he charged with our case, and said that we
must be there the next day at 3 o'clock, with the duty paid at the Sberkassa (saving-bank)
according to the forms which they would give us there. We thanked him and went home.

The clerk who took our case asked us to give him a lift to the Dzerzhinskiy building.
Of course, I agreed, moreover, I was going the same way. We got into conversation in
the car and I told him how long and hard we had tried to solve the problem with
Svetlana’s passport. He listened to my story and said that we should have asked him and
the problem would have been solved quickly! He got out of the car and we went home.

Later in the evening Vladimir Mironov came to visit us, which surprised us. I
thought that he arrived to share some information, but was wrong. He inquired of me, in
detail, what else they told me to do. I said to him that it was a pity that we did not know
this clerk before, when we got Svetlana’s passport; when everything could have
happened much faster, without this kind of inconvenience. This drove him out of his
wits and furiously he almost shouted:

— You will NEVER get out of the Soviet Union! Well, may be you, — he turned
to me, — will make a miracle, — he said with obvious malevolence in his voice, being

absolutely sure that this was impossible!

It was the last time I spoke to this person. Mironov left our house in very excited
state, planning what more he could do to make his words came true. But he did not take
into account that miracles can happen especially if they involve me, although he did
indeed do everything he possibly could to derail my departure plans. And here is how.

When on Tuesday, December 24, Svetlana and I arrived at the OVIR at 3 o’clock
as we were told, having paid our duty, I was invited into the office of the head of the

OVIR, who asked me:
— Why did you have unofficial relations with my subordinate? You see, Mironov
came here at 2 o'clock and told me about this.
It was obvious that this man detested people like Vladimir Mironov and he told me
about his feeble efforts against me on purpose. I explained that nothing of the kind had

happened and could not have happened, because Svetlana already had her passport and

64 The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.
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