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

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.