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

第七章

This chapter chronicles Lee Harvey Oswald’s life and mindset across his residence in the Soviet Union, his return to the United States, and his early period living in Texas. It covers his preferential treatment by Soviet authorities, his growing disillusionment with Soviet society, the dramatic reversal of his earlier anti-American defection to return to the U.S., severe psychological turmoil following his return, his explicit rejection of both capitalism and communism, preparations for a hypothetical return press conference, continued engagement with the Soviet Union after his repatriation, and his strained personal relationships within the local Russian-speaking community in Texas.

Oswald’s Soviet Residence and Treatment

Oswald’s Soviet Residence and Treatment After Soviet authorities permitted him to remain in the country, Oswald was assigned to work as a metal worker at a radio and television factory in Minsk. He was denied admission to a Moscow university, but received a monthly 700-ruble subsidy in addition to his factory salary, plus living quarters far better than those provided to average Soviet citizens of his age and social standing, giving him a total income roughly equal to that of the factory’s director. Despite this preferential treatment, he resented the better accommodations and resources afforded to Communist Party officials, a dynamic that echoed his earlier resentment of superiors during his time in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Oswald’s Disillusionment with Soviet Society

Oswald’s Disillusionment with Soviet Society Oswald grew increasingly disillusioned with life in the Soviet Union during his time in Minsk. Members of the Russian community in Dallas later reported that Oswald was widely disliked in the USSR, and he confided to the De Mohrenschildts that he had returned to the U.S. because he “didn’t find what I was looking for.” His personal historic diary entries detailed his frustration with mandatory collective work duties, the hollow joviality of party officials, and the lack of personal recreation or meaningful ways to spend his income, leading him to reconsider his desire to stay in the country less than 18 months after his defection.