Most teenagers declare their independence by rebelling, at least a little, against their parents. Walter Polovchak took his stand when he was twelve and sent a rumble through the two most powerful nations on earth. His Soviet emigre parents had decided to return to the U.S.S.R. after living six months in Chicago. Walter stubbornly said he wouldn't go, and suddenly he was the littlest defector in international headlines. Washington granted him asylum. His parents, backed by the Soviet Union, went to court in the U.S., arguing that their parental rights had been violated. Various judges ruled various ways. Meanwhile, Walter did...
People: Oct. 14, 1985
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