Lev and Natalia were married in the Soviet Union. Little is known about the couple in the months that followed the Nazi and Romanian attack on the Soviet Union. They escaped Bessarabia, and fled further inland: Răutu is said to have been a mere laborer at a sand quarry and a "kolkhoz". He and Natalia had two children, both of whom died, probably of hunger, during the months of Soviet retreat. At some point (perhaps in 1943), Răutu became head of the Radio Moscow Romanian-language division, making him a favorite of exile faction leader Ana Pauker's, together with Valter Roman and Petre Borilă. This assignment placed Răutu in direct contact with some of Pauker's colleagues in the Comintern: he replaced Basil Spiru, of Marx University fame, and was supervised by Rudolf Slánský. His other job was as book editor for the Foreign Languages Publishing House.