Oswald’s Family Correspondence
Oswald replied to a letter from his brother Robert with a communication containing his most bitter statements against the United States (quoted in full in chapter VII). A second letter from Oswald, received by Robert on December 17, announced that Lee would not write again and did not want Robert to write to him, stating: “I am starting a new life and I do not wish to have anything to do with the old life. I hope you and your family will always be in good health. Lee.” On December 18, his mother mailed him a personal check for $20, which was returned on January 5 with a note that he could not use the check; he asked her to send $20 in cash and indicated he had little money and needed “the rest,” apparently referring to the $100 he had previously given her. Mrs. Oswald subsequently sent a money order for approximately $25.
Oswald’s Issuance of Stateless Identity Document
On January 4, Oswald was summoned to the Soviet Passport Office and issued Identity Document for Stateless Persons No. 311479. He was informed that he was being sent to Minsk, an industrial city of roughly 510,000 located about 450 miles southwest of Moscow. While disappointed at not receiving Soviet citizenship, he was relieved that the uncertainty over his status was ended, and he told Rima Shirokova that he was happy. The following day he went to the government agency known as the “Red Cross,” which gave him 5,000 rubles (about 500 new rubles or $500 at the official rate); of this sum, 2,200 rubles went to pay his hotel bill and 150 rubles purchased a railroad ticket to Minsk.
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