Born in 1940 in Leningrad, he joined a Zionist group in the early 60s, which was fighting for the legitimization of the right for Soviet Jews to emigrate freely to Israel. In 1965 he began to study and then to teach Hebrew. In 1966 he was one of the founders of the Zionist underground organization in Leningrad and was a member of its committee until his arrest in 1970. In August of 1969 he filed an application to OVIR requesting permission to leave for Israel, but was refused. Arrested on June 15th, 1970, he was charged with anti-Soviet Zionist activities and in May 1971, (the 2nd Leningrad trial), was sentenced to 4 years imprisonment in a high-security camp in the Gulag where he continued his Zionist activities even in the camp. Released in 1974, he left for Israel that same year.
