en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svetlana_Alliluyeva
2 corrections found
Brajesh Singh (m. 1965; died 1966)
This infobox entry incorrectly says Alliluyeva married Brajesh Singh in 1965. Contemporary U.S. government records say they wanted to marry but were denied permission, and Alliluyeva described herself as Singh’s "common law wife," not his legal spouse.
Full reasoning
The article’s infobox presents Brajesh Singh as a legal spouse with a marriage date in 1965. But a contemporaneous U.S. State Department record from March 1967 says Alliluyeva told Embassy officials that she was Brajesh Singh’s "common law wife" and that "She and Brajesh had wanted to marry, but had been denied permission." That directly contradicts the claim that they were married in 1965.
This is also consistent with the body text of the same article, which states that Alliluyeva and Singh "were not allowed to marry" and that in a 26 April 1967 interview she said they "were never allowed to marry officially." In other words, the page’s own narrative aligns with the primary-source record, while the infobox spouse entry does not.
Because the best available primary source says permission to marry was denied, listing Singh as a spouse with a 1965 marriage date is inaccurate.
1 source
- U.S. Department of State, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Vol. XIV, Document 208
Svetlana stated that she was the "common law wife" of Brajesh Singh... She and Brajesh had wanted to marry, but had been denied permission.
In April 1986 she again moved back from the Soviet Union to the US with Olga
This sentence incorrectly says Alliluyeva returned to the U.S. with Olga. Contemporary reporting shows Olga went to England, and Alliluyeva returned to the United States separately the next day.
Full reasoning
The article says that in April 1986 Alliluyeva moved back to the United States with Olga. Contemporary reports show that did not happen.
An Associated Press report in the Los Angeles Times on April 15, 1986 states that Olga Peters arrived in London from Moscow and that "Her mother, Svetlana Alliluyeva, was not with her." A second Los Angeles Times report on April 17, 1986 says Alliluyeva arrived in the United States and adds that her return to the West came one day after Olga arrived in England to resume school there.
So mother and daughter did not return together to the United States. Olga went to England, while Alliluyeva returned separately to the U.S.
2 sources
- Los Angeles Times / Associated Press: Stalin Granddaughter in London
The American-born granddaughter of Josef Stalin returned to Britain today... Her mother, Svetlana Alliluyeva, was not with her.
- Los Angeles Times: Stalin's Daughter Comes Back to U.S. Without Public Notice
Alliluyeva ... arrived in the United States ... one day after her 14-year-old daughter, Olga Peters, arrived in England to enroll again in the Quaker boarding school.