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

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

Chapter II documents the period from the Oswalds’ return to Minsk in mid-1961 through their final departure from the Soviet Union in June 1962, chronicling the complex, months-long effort to secure exit visas, the pressures applied to Marina, the birth of their daughter June Lee, and the various financial, legal, and diplomatic arrangements required for their emigration. The chapter concludes with Oswald’s disillusionment notes written aboard the SS Maasdam.

Minsk Exit Visa Application Process

Upon returning to Minsk, the Oswalds immediately began working with local authorities to obtain permission to leave the Soviet Union. Oswald’s diary entry for July 16 through August 20 records that they identified approximately 20 required documents—including birth certificates, an affidavit, and photographs—and submitted them on August 20, with officials indicating a 3½-month waiting period for a decision. The entry also noted that Marina was pregnant and that multiple meetings were being held at her workplace by her bosses at the direction of “someone” by phone, ostensibly to dissuade her from emigrating. Oswald reported these efforts to the Embassy in a July 15 letter, stating he would keep the Embassy informed and noting that the intimidation “tactics” were “quite useless” since Marina had “stood up well.”

Soviet Pressure on Marina to Abandon Emigration

Marina testified that after news of her July visit to the American Embassy reached Minsk, she was expelled from Komsomol (the Communist Youth Organization) and that “meetings were arranged” at which “members of the various organizations” attempted to dissuade her from leaving the Soviet Union. Her aunt and uncle did not speak to her for “a long time.” Paul Gregory, to whom Marina later taught Russian in the United States, testified that she once described this period in Minsk as “a very horrible time.”

Oswald’s Expedited Visa Processing Attempts

Oswald’s diary entry for August 21 through September 1 records that he made “repeated trips to the passport & visa office, also to Ministry of For. Affairs in Minsk, also Min. of Internal Affairs, all of which have a say in the granting of a visa,” and that he “extracted promises of quick attention.” However, a subsequent entry covering September through October 18 noted simply: “No word from Min. (‘They’ll call us.’).” On October 4, Oswald wrote to the Embassy requesting official U.S. intervention, citing “systematic and concerted attempts to intimidate” Marina—including a 5-day hospitalization on September 22 for “nervous exhaustion” (a claim Marina later denied and which he omitted from his diary and family letters). The Embassy replied on October 12 that it had no means of influencing Soviet conduct in such matters and that action on visa applications was “seldom taken rapidly.”

October 1961 Marital Strains and Khar’kov Vacation

In October 1961, Marina took her annual vacation and spent approximately three weeks with an aunt in Khar’kov, a “change of scenery” agreed upon by both. Evidence suggests they were not getting along well during this period: a post-return diary entry noted quarrels and Marina’s wavering on emigration, which Oswald attributed to anxiety about visas and her pregnancy, while he dreaded the “hard Russian winter.” During her absence, Oswald felt lonely but socialized with his friend “Erich” (presumably Erik Titovyets) at dances and other amusements, and on his 22nd birthday went alone to see his favorite opera, “The Queen of Spades.” Marina returned on November 11, “radiant, with several jars of preserves.”

Aksenov Interview on Exit Visa Status

After Marina’s return, Oswald applied for an interview with Col. Nicolay Aksenov, a local MVD official, to expedite their visa application but was told by subordinates they could handle it. Oswald then insisted that Marina seek the interview, which she agreed to reluctantly. Marina suspected the interview may have been granted because her uncle was a high-ranking Minsk MVD official, though she did not believe he would have used his position. Colonel Aksenov questioned her about her reasons for wanting to go to the United States and, noting her pregnancy, suggested she delay departure so the child could be born in Russia, but did not otherwise discourage her. He ultimately informed her they would have to wait their turn.