LEAVE YOUR TEARS IN MOSCOW

As a result of an appeal to Premier Khrushchev when he was in this country in 1959, the family of Mrs. Armonas was re-united after a twenty year separation. But this book is much more interesting than a pitiable family saga could ever be. From the point of view of an ordinary citizen. Mrs. Armonas tells how the Russians treated the Baltic countries, what daily life is like in a Siberian forest town, how black market dealings and bribery of officials are constantly necessary even to survive, much less to procure luxuries or favors. Mrs. Armonas and her infant son were caught in her native bithuania at the beginning of the war, although her American husband and daughter got out in time. Once a rich she was gradually dispossessed of her land by the Soviets, later deported to along with many other Lithuanians, and in 1951 was arrested and imprisoned for five years because of her connections. All the while, even when in prison, she managed to keep in touch with her growing son. Without self-pity or undue , her story gives an unpretentious view of an ordinary life under the Soviets, and should have a wide interest.