Born in 1923 in Moscow, he experienced the arrest and execution of his father, who had been charged with Jewish nationalism, in 1937. Anatoly was conscripted into the Red Army in 1944 and in 1950 was arrested, charged with Zionist activity and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. He served his sentence in the camps of Minlag and Suranta in the Komi ASSR. He was released in 1954 and spent many years in a struggle for the right to move to Israel. He was unsuccessful until 1987.
