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Victor Kravchenko
Victor Andreevich Kravchenko (11 October 1905 - 25 February 1966) was a Soviet defector, known for writing the best-selling book, I Chose Freedom, published in 1946, about the realities of life in ...view moreVictor Andreevich Kravchenko (11 October 1905 - 25 February 1966) was a Soviet defector, known for writing the best-selling book, I Chose Freedom, published in 1946, about the realities of life in the Soviet Union. He published a further memoir in 1950, I Chose Justice, detailing his “trial of the century” in France.
Kravchenko defected to the United States during World War II, and began writing about his experiences as an official in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and raising awareness of the Holodomor. Later in life he wrote about his experiences in America under capitalism, until his death under suspicious circumstances in 1966.
Born into a Ukrainian family in Ekaterinoslav, Russian Empire (now Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine), Kravchenko served as a Captain in the Soviet Army during World War II until 1943, when he was posted to the Soviet Purchasing Commission in Washington, DC, the capital of the United States.
On 4 April 1944, Kravchenko abandoned his post and requested political asylum in the United States. However, the Soviet authorities demanded his immediate extradition, calling him a traitor, and ambassador Joseph E. Davies appealed to President Franklin D. Roosevelt directly on behalf of Joseph Stalin to have Kravchenko extradited. He was granted asylum, but lived under a pseudonym thereafter, fearing assassination by Soviet agents.view less