Arkady Stepanchuk never forgot the cold November morning in 1961 when he was arrested by the KGB.  He was only 16.  His crime?  Going to the French embassy to seek information about relatives who had fled to France during the Second World War.

KGB agents searched his apartment and discovered a diary in which he had written: “Why do we need the cult of Lenin if we have Jesus Christ?”  He was charged with “anti‑Soviet agitation and propaganda” and…