THE COLD WAR: Melancholy Mission to Moscow

After the Russians captured U-2 Pilot Francis G. Powers last May 1, both his wife and his parents asked the Soviet embassy in Washington for permission to go to Moscow to see him. With the baffling arbitrariness that so often characterizes Soviet officialdom, the Russians granted a visa only to Powers' father Oliver, who runs a shoe repair shop in Norton, Va. Powers' wife Barbara, 24, spent three anxious months importuning the U.S. State Department for help, pleading with Soviet embassy officials, even sending a personal appeal to Nikita Khrushchev.

Last week the Soviet embassy granted visas to Powers' wife and mother, enabling them to arrive in Moscow shortly before Powers goes on trial on Aug. 17, his 31st birthday. Four lawyers seeking to defend Powers, including Columbia University's Russian expert, John N. Hazard, were denied visas; instead a court-assigned Soviet lawyer will represent Powers. The airman will face espionage charges in the military section of the Soviet Supreme Court. If convicted, Powers can be sentenced to from seven years' imprisonment to death. Unless the Russians change their minds, his family will not be permitted to talk with him until after the trial.