Efraim Sevela (1928–2010)

Efraim Sevela was the pen name of Efim Evelevich Drabkin, born to a Jewish family in Bobruysk, Russia (present-day Belarus). He lost his parents in the Great Patriotic War (World War II) and became the 'mascot' of a Red Army regiment. After the war, he worked as a carpenter and attended Belarusian State University. He worked as a journalist in Lithuania, returned to Moscow and became a leading writer and director of patriotic films. In 1971, he was among the leaders of the "Let Us Go" movement of Moscow Jews, and was permitted to emigrate to Israel. He published his first novel, Truth Is for Strangers, in 1976. In 1977, Sevela left Israel and lived and worked in the USA and several cities in Europe. In 1990, he returned to the USSR and made highly successful films based on his novels and other writings. His wife is Yuliya.