Oswald’s Reconsideration of Staying in the USSR
On January 4, 1961, one year after he had been issued his “stateless” residence permit, Oswald was summoned to the passport office in Minsk and asked if he still wanted to become a Soviet citizen. He replied that he did not, but asked that his residence permit be extended for another year. The diary entry for January 4–31 reads: “I am stating to reconsider my disire about staying. The work is drab. The money I get has nowhere to be spent. No nightclubs or bowling allys, no places of recreation acept the trade union dances. I have had enough.”
CAPÍTULO II. With the assistance of Agent in Charge Sorrels of the
Chapter II examines Lee Harvey Oswald’s renewed contact with the U.S. Embassy in Moscow in early 1961, his encounters with Americans and Soviets in Minsk, his courtship and marriage to Marina Nikolayevna Prusakova, and the steps he took to obtain his American passport back and arrange for his wife’s immigration to the United States. Drawing heavily on Oswald’s diary, State Department and Embassy correspondence, and Commission Exhibit materials, the chapter traces how Oswald went from requesting repatriation in February to marrying Marina in late April and ultimately obtaining a valid passport and initiating his wife’s visa application in July 1961.
Oswald’s Early 1961 Correspondence with the U.S. Embassy
After a long silence following his November 1959 letter, Oswald wrote to the American Embassy in Moscow on or about February 6, 1961, from Minsk. The undated letter, received on February 13, requested the return of his passport and stated his desire to return to the United States provided he could reach “some agreement [with the American Government] concerning the dropping of any legal proceedings” against him. Oswald emphasized he had not become a Soviet citizen and was living in Russia with “nonpermanent type papers for a foreigner,” noting he could not personally appear at the Embassy because he could not leave Minsk without permission. He referenced a previous letter he claimed had gone unanswered, though there is evidence no such letter was ever sent. A second letter, posted March 5 and received March 20, reiterated his inability to travel to Moscow and asked that preliminary inquiries be put in the form of a questionnaire. Oswald’s diary records his “state of expectation about going back to the U.S.” and notes that a friend had approved his plans but warned him not to discuss them with others. Soviet authorities had almost certainly intercepted and read the correspondence, and soon after it began, Oswald’s monthly “Red Cross” payments were cut off.
U.S. Responses to Oswald’s Repatriation Requests
Second Secretary Richard Snyder responded to Oswald on February 28, stating that Oswald would have to appear at the Embassy in person to discuss his return to the United States. After Washington was informed, the Embassy wrote again on March 24 reiterating this requirement. The Department of State eventually decided that Oswald’s passport could be returned only if he appeared at the Embassy and if the Embassy was satisfied, after exploring the matter with him, that he had not renounced his citizenship. Meanwhile, Oswald’s mother, who had inquired about her son’s whereabouts at the State Department in January, was notified of his letter.
Oswald’s Encounter With Katherine Mallory in Minsk
During the second week of March 1961, Katherine Mallory of the University of Michigan symphonic band, on tour in Minsk, was surrounded by curious Russian citizens. A young man who identified himself as a Texan and former marine stepped from the crowd and offered to interpret for her, doing so for the next 15 to 20 minutes. He later told her he despised the United States and hoped to remain in Minsk for the rest of his life. Although Miss Mallory could not swear her interpreter was Oswald, she was personally convinced that it was he.
Oswald’s First Meeting With Marina Prusakova
Probably on March 17, 1961, Oswald attended a trade union dance at the Palace of Culture for Professional Workers in Minsk with his friend Erik Titovyets. The dance followed a lecture by a Russian woman recently returned from the United States. Marina Nikolayevna Prusakova arrived too late to hear the lecture but attended the dance, where Oswald noticed her and asked Yuriy Merezhinskiy, the lecturer’s son and a mutual friend, to introduce him. After dancing together, Oswald obtained her telephone number before she left (though Marina testified she did not give it to him). According to Oswald’s diary, they liked each other immediately, and Oswald was smitten.
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