In the majority Russian-speaking port city of Odessa, he had friends in academic and literary circles who, he says, saved him on many occasions from suspicious K.G.B. officers. He found he didn't have the right politics, even when he tried to publish a book about the art of acting — which was not political in its content — and a publisher told him it would only publish the work if he shared the credit with a co-author, a professor, who did not help write it. Mr. Arzunyan refused. In 1989, when the Soviet Union was in collapse and a friend invited him to the United States to give a series of lectures about the Soviet Union, Mr. Arzunyan welcomed the opportunity. After the Arzunyans arrived in the United States, the series was abruptly canceled. But the couple decided to stay in New York. Donate now to the 111th annual campaign of The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund. All proceeds go to organizations providing assistance to those facing economic hardship. Make a tax-deductible donation through GoFundMe. They settled in Washington Heights and enmeshed themselves in a community of Russians with similar literary interests. In addition to writing for Russian newspapers in New York, Mr. Arzunyan wrote for outlets in Germany, Russia and Ukraine. Ms. Arzunyan juggled jobs as a home health aide and a housekeeper. Some income also came from the publishing house that they created in 1999 called Life Belt. It published several of Mr. Arzunyan's 27 books and the works of other Russian-speaking immigrants. At the time, Mr. Arzunyan was also delivering meals part time for the Meals on Wheels program at the Washington Heights Y. The couple mostly stopped working in 2010, but Mr. Arzunyan continued to write and self-publish his poetry and nonfiction books, which expanded beyond politics. Ms. Arzunyan's assistance became even more essential when her husband's eyesight began to fail. Together they filled their days having dinner with friends and attending educational and recreational events at the Y. "We were like one person," he said. After the loss of his wife in December 2020, Mr. Arzunyan was anguished. "I wanted to kill myself," he said. He also didn't know how he would manage his affairs. With help from his caseworker, Mr. Arzunyan was able to hold a funeral with funds from the YM & YWHA of Washington Heights & Inwood, a beneficiary agency of the UJA-Federation of New York.