Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

Oswald’s Minsk, Soviet Union Employment

Speculation suggested that Soviet suspicion of Oswald was indicated by his being sent to work in a radio plant in Minsk as an unskilled hand at the lowest pay rate, despite qualifying as a trained radar and electronics technician. The Commission found that the Soviet Government probably was suspicious of Oswald, as it would be of any American appearing in Moscow wanting to live in the Soviet Union, and it was expected that he would be placed in a non-national security position. Additionally, Oswald had been a radar operator, not a technician, in the Marines, and his total income in Russia was higher than normal because his pay was supplemented for about a year by Soviet “Red Cross” payments—an official agency that Oswald believed really came from the MVD—as part of a Soviet policy to subsidize Western defectors to maintain their previous standard of living.

Oswald’s Alleged Minsk Assassin Training

Speculation suggested Oswald was trained by the Russians in a special assassin school at Minsk. The Commission found no evidence to support this claim or the existence of such a school in Minsk during Oswald’s time there, and while Oswald belonged to a hunting club near Minsk, there is no evidence this was other than an ordinary hunting club.

Marina Oswald’s Family Intelligence Ties

Speculation suggested that Marina Oswald’s father was an important part of the Soviet intelligence apparatus. The Commission found that Marina’s father died while she was still an infant, and the reference is presumably to her uncle, Ilya Prusakov, who was an executive in the lumber industry, a position carrying the rank of lieutenant colonel or colonel in the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD). Since 1953, the MVD has not been concerned with internal security or other police functions.

Oswald’s Departure from the Soviet Union

Speculation suggested it was most exceptional that Oswald was able to bring his wife and child out of the Soviet Union with him. The Commission found no reason to believe the Oswalds received unusually favorable treatment in being permitted or assisted to leave the Soviet Union together, noting that other American citizens have brought their Russian wives out of the Soviet Union, both before and after Oswald.

Oswald’s Return to the United States

Speculation suggested Oswald would never have been permitted to return to the United States if Soviet intelligence had not planned to use him against the United States. The Commission found no evidence that Oswald had any working relationship with the Soviet Government or Soviet intelligence, and noted that the Russians have permitted other American defectors to return to the United States.

Oswald’s Soviet Exit Visa Processing

Speculation suggested that the prompt granting of Marina Oswald’s exit visa indicated Soviet authorities wanted her to accompany her husband. The Commission found that Marina’s exit visa application was not acted upon with unusual rapidity, taking at least 5½ months from application to notification of permission in December 1961, with many instances of visas being granted more quickly to other Soviet wives of American citizens. Regarding another speculation that Soviet authorities gave Oswald a month and a half advance notice of his visa grant—an unprecedented act—the Commission found that the Oswalds were notified on December 25, 1961 that their visa requests had been granted, with Marina picking up her visa on January 11, 1962 (17 days after notice) and Oswald not picking up his until May 22. The Soviets did not give advance notice, and the visas could have been picked up immediately had they desired; Oswald delayed picking up his visa due to its 45-day expiration period, waiting until he could arrange a departure date after receiving State Department permission to return in May.

KAPITEL II. With the assistance of Agent in Charge Sorrels of the

This chapter addresses rumors and speculations regarding Lee Harvey Oswald, organized around his trip to Mexico City, alleged connections to U.S. government agencies, conspiratorial relationships, and various other claims. The Commission systematically evaluates each speculation against the evidence, providing documented findings that consistently reject conspiracy theories while acknowledging the public concern that prompted the investigation. The chapter demonstrates the Commission’s methodology of pairing each speculation with a corresponding finding supported by documentary evidence and witness testimony.