THE DEFECTOR STUDY
Staff Report of the
Select Committee on Assassinations
U.S. House of Representatives
Ninety-fifth Congress
Second Session
March 1979
CONTENTS
I. Foreword - 1-13
II. Morris and Mollie Block - 14-24
III. Harold Citrynell - 25-29
IV. Bruce Frederick Davis - 30-34
V. Shirley Dubinsky - 35-38
VI. Joseph Dutkanicz - 39-49
VII. Martin Greendlinger - 50-55
VIII. Nicholas Petrulli - 56-64
IX. Libero Ricciardelli - 65-76
X. Vladimir Sloboda - 77-85
XI. Robert Webster - 86-103
XII. Lee Harvey Oswald - 104-149
XIII. Soviet citizenship - 150-158
XIV. Propaganda use and financial arrangements - 159-163
XV. Residence employment and financial arrangements - 164-168
XVI. Soviet relationships and exit visas - 169-174
XVII. KGB contact - 175-188
Addendum : American Debriefing Practices - 189-199
I. FOREWORD
A. BACKGROUND
- From a comparative analysis of 11 defectors who were similar to Lee Harvey Oswald, the committee sought to determine what, if anything, was unusual about Oswald's defection.
- To determine which individuals the committee would study, a letter was sent to the CIA requesting the names of persons who defected to the Soviet Union between 1958 and 1964. In response, the CIA provided a list of the names and variations of the names of 380 Americans who were in the U.S.S.R. during that time period.
- The CIA was subsequently requested to provide more information on the 380 defectors to enable the committee to select, for a detailed analysis, those most similar to Oswald. The CIA provided a computer listing of the name. 901 file number,* date and place of birth, and a compilation of information derived from the 201 file, as well as citations for various other Government agency reports.
- From this second list of defectors, the committee eliminated those that appeared to have (a) been born outside the United States; (b) gone to the U.S.S.R. sometime other than the 1958-69 time period; and (c) remained outside the United States until 1964. The committee decided to examine the files on the remaining- 03 individuals, listed below:
Name | Date of birth | Place of birth
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Amron, Irving | | United States.
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Block, Mollie | Nov. 6, 1912 | New York, N.Y.
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Block, Morris | Mar. 30, 1920 | Do.
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Citrynell. Harold | Mar. 10, 1923 | Do.
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Davis, Bruce Frederick | May 4, 1936 | Rome, N.Y.
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Dubinsky, Shirley | Mar. 11, 1925 | New York, N.Y.
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Frank, Richard Cyril | Aug. 22, 1922 | Rochester, N.Y.
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Frank, Susan Heligman | Nov. 18. 1913 | New York, N.Y.
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Gold, Robert | Mar. 14, 1928 | Massachusetts.
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Greendlinger, Martin | Mar. 25, 1932 | New York. N.Y.
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Halperin, Maurice H | Mar. 3, 1906 | Boston Mass.
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Jones, Louis Henry | Mar. 17, 1934 | Arlington Heights,Ohio
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Lawson, John Howard | Sept. 25, 1894 | New York, N.Y.
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Martin, William H | May 27, 1931 | Columbus, Ga.
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Martinkus, Anthony V | June 15, 1911 | Chicago, Ill.
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Meyer, Karl Henry | June 30, 1937 | Mountain, Wis.
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Mitchell, Bernon F | Mar. 11, 1931 | San Francisco, Calif.
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Parker, James Dudley | Feb. 21, 1926 | Oakland, Calif.
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Petrulli. Nicholas | Feb. 13, 1921 | Brooklyn, N.Y.
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Pittman, John Orion | Sept. 17, 1906 | Atlanta, Ga.
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Ricciardelli. Libero | June 18, 1917 | Needham, Mass.
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Webster, Robert Edward | Oct. 23, 1928 | Tiffin, Ohio.
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Winston, Henry | Apr. 2, 1911 | Hattiesburg, Miss.
|
- The committee then examined the October 25, 1960, request from the State Department to the CIA for information on 13 individuals they considered defectors. That list included the following:
*A 201 file contains general information concerning a person, as opposed to other files that may concern projects and so forth.
(a) Lee Harvey Oswald. (b) Seven individuals whose files the committee had decided to examine under the previous criteria: Block, Mollie; Block, Morris; Davis, Bruce Frederick; Martin, William H.; Mitchell, Bernon F.; Ricciardelli, Libero; Webster, Robert Edward. (c) Two individuals whose names appeared on the computer listing but had been excluded because they were not born within the United States: Dutkanicz, Joseph--Date of birth: June 9, 1926, place of birth: Corlice, Poland; Sloboda, Vladimir--Date of birth: January 7, 1907, place of birth: Redkomien, U.S.S.R. (d) Three individuals who had not previously been known to the committee as defectors: DuBois, David--Date of birth: March 9, 1925; David Graham McConns--place of birth: Seattle, Wash.; Jones, Sergeant (FNU); Fletcher, Sgt. Ernie.
- The CIA response to this State Department request is dated November 21, 1960. It included available information on the above defectors and stated: In addition to those appearing on your list, there is in- cluded information on Virginia Frank Coe and Maurice Hyman Halperin. While these individuals have not re- nounced their American citizenship or declared themselves in any way, both are employed by the bloc countries in which they now reside.
- The committee had selected Halperin from the computer listing as a defector who fit the previously stated criteria, but had no knowledge of Coe.
- In a February 27, 1978, letter from the committee to the. CIA, access to all existing 201 files were requested for the following individuals: (a) The 23 individuals from the computer listing;
(b) Dutkanicz, Sloboda, DuBois, Jones, and Fletcher (because their names appeared on the defector list with Oswald's name); and
(c) Coe (because the CIA added his name as a possible defector)
- Five of the individuals were immediately dropped from this defector analysis. The CIA could not identify Sergeant Jones without additional identifying data, none of which could be found. DuBois and Coe were eliminated because they defected to Communist China and did not offer any insight into Oswald's defection to the Soviet Union. The information on Martin and Mitchell was considered too sensitive in nature by the CIA to be provided to the
- The committee also requested the FBI, the Department of Defense and the State Department to provide selected information on the 24-name defector sample.
- From the available information, the committee performed an analysis of treatment provided by the Soviets to individuals during the approximate period Oswald was there. The committee used the following criteria for its detailed examination: Background
Date of defection
Defected with whom
Rejection of American citizenship
Length of time for Soviets to grant residence
Type of residence permit granted
Circumstances after defection and prior to resettlement
Propaganda statements made to Soviet press
Relationships with Soviet citizens
Place of residence in Soviet Union
Military training prior to defection
Employment in Soviet Union
Income provided
Financial aid provided
Contact with Soviet officials, especially KGB personnel
Known surveillance
Time period for Soviets to grant exit visa
Time period for United States to grant entrance visa
Time period for spouse or children to obtain exit visa
Time period for spouse or children to obtain entrance visa
- During this analysis, 13 individuals were eliminated for the following reasons: (a) Lack of substantive information: Fletcher, Ernie; Gold, Robert: Jones, Louis; Lawson, John; Meyer, Karl; Parker, James. (b) Communist Party members who made frequent trips to the Soviet Union, were on official party business in the Soviet Union, or had resided outside the United States for an extended period before entering the Soviet Union, making a comparison to Oswald's situation difficult:Frank, Richard; Frank, Susan; Halpenn, Maurice; Pittman, John; Winston, Henry. (c) Residents in the Soviet Union for over 90 years, making a comparison to Oswald's situation difficult: Amron, Irving; Martinkus, Anthony.
- The defector sample eventually compared to Lee Harvey Oswald was reduced to 11 ,individuals, 2 of whom were married: Block, Mollie; Block, Morris; Citrynell, Harold; Davis, Bruce; Dubinsky, Shirley; Dutkanicz, Joseph; Greendlinger, Martin; Petrulli, Nicholas; Ricciardelli, Libero; Sloboda, Vladimir;Webster, Robert.
II. MORRIS AND MOLLIE BLOCK
- Morris Block attended the Sixth World Youth Festival in the Soviet Union during 1957. (1) Immediately after the conference he traveled to Communist China, prompting the State Department to impound his passport for misuse. (2) In 1958, he made an unsuccessful attempt to reach the Soviet Union with a falsified passport. (3)
- Then, in July 1959, Morris Block arrived in Gydnia, Poland with his wife and child. (4) After being kept in seclusion for 1 month, they were transferred to Moscow where they were met by, a "Soviet representative." (5) The Blocks were taken to the Leningradskaya Hotel and provided excellent accommodations while they applied for travel visas to China. (6).Although the Soviet representatives had reached an agreement with the Blocks to participate in press conference, it did not take place. (7)
- In September 1959, the Soviets suggested the Blocks accept Soviet asylum, and later issued them Soviet internal passports for foreigners. (8) The Soviet authorities immediately settled the Blocks in a two-room, 19 ruble-a-month apartment in Odessa and provided them 1,000 rubles to buy furniture. (9) Morris Block obtained a job as a mechanic in a Soviet shipyard while Mollie Block taught in the Polytechnic Institute. (10) Their combined income was 166 rubles per month. (11)
- A Ukranian newspaper published a letter by Block in December 1959, stating his intent to live in the Soviet Union. (12) He severely criticized life in the United States and detailed a long history of unemployment and alleged "persecution" by the FBI after his return from China. (13) Again he denounced the United States interview with his local newspaper in 1960. (14)
- Because Morris Block had difficulty with the Russian language, he was assigned a young girl to teach him. (15) An affair resulted and Mollie Block arrived in Moscow with her daughter in February 1960. (16) The same Soviet official met Mrs. Block, this time taking her to the Hotel Metropole. (17) Until June she remained there, with the Soviet Red Cross paying expenses. (18) When her daughter hospitalized due to a nervous disorder, Mollie Block moved into a one-room apartment and began work as a typist-translator for the Soviet Publishing Office in Moscow. (19)
- In August Morris Block arrived in Moscow and requested remain there with his family. (20) Because the Soviets insisted months later Mollie and Morris Block returned to their previous jobs in Odessa. (21) Their daughter did not join them until May 1961.(22)
- After numerous visits to the Soviet authorities, the Blocks received permissiou to visit the American Embassy in Moscow. Mollie Block requested the Embassy provide passports for herself, her husband, and an immigration visa for their daughter. (24) She also requested financial aid to repatriate. (25) The U.S. authorities were willing to aid the Blocks since their passports had expired, but the Soviet authorities refused to grant exit visas and forced a return to Odessa. (26) The Blocks were subsequently approached on three occasions to renounce their U.S. citizenship and become Soviet citizens. (27) They refused to do so. (28)
- The State Department asked the American Embassy on January 30, 1963, to issue Mollie Block a passport for return to the United States only, her daughter an alien entry visa and Morris Block an emergency certificate of identity and registration for return to the United States only. (29) They did so. (30)
- Then in late February 1963, the Blocks lost their Soviet documentation. (31) In May the Soviet. Government stated they would not reissue temporary documents axed the Blocks would have to accept permanent registration instead. (32) Applications for exit visas were filed during the summer months of 1963, refused, and filed again in April 1964. (33)
- Morris Block became annoyed at the Soviets broadcasting propaganda through the loudspeaker at his place of employment early 1964.(34) He disconnected it and was severely punished by several young Soviet workers. (35) The Soviets would not grant permission for the Blocks to visit the Embassy in Moscow or grant exit visas so they could leave the Soviet Union. (36)
- Mollie Block provided an account of their difficulties to a cor- respondent for the New York Times that was visiting Odessa.(37) When the article concerning Soviet treatment of the Blocks was published, the Soviets began harassing the Blocks. (38) The U.S. consular officials discussed the Block case with Minister of Foreign Affairs, and then the Blocks were expelled from the U.S.S.R.(39) Morris Block was charged with acts of hooliganism and Mollie Block was charged with handling out anti-Soviet propaganda to foreign students at the Polytechnic Institute.(40) They departed from the U.S.S.R. to the United States on July 11, 1964. (41)
III. HAROLD CITRYNELL
- Harold Citrynell entered the Soviet Union with his wife and child on February 27, 1958. (42) He crossed the Czechoslovakian border as a tourist, intending to establish residence and become a citizen. (43)
- After several days in Moscow, Citrynell applied to the Office Visas and Registration for permanent residence ,and Soviet citizenship. (44) He wrote a statement containing 13 reasons prompting his request for Soviet citizenship, one which may have been his inability to obtain employment in his desired field.(45) Within a few days Citrynell was notified that he had been accepted and that the Red Cross would take care of him and his family.(46)
- Citrynell was provided a one-bedroom apartment in Kharkov job in a mine surveying instrument factory with an "above average salary for the job." (47) He stated that while living in Kharkov, he felt that his neighbors and coworkers had participated in planned effot to make him dislike the Soviet Union.
- In the autumn of 1958, Citrynell decided to return to the United States. (49) He requested an exit visa and began writing government offices and influential people. (50) He stated that after October 1958 his detention was involuntary. (51)
- Before Citrynell's departure on June 29, 1959, the Red Cross requested he sign a statement agreeing never to say anything derogatory about the Soviet Union or any individual in it. (52)
IV. BRUCE FREDERICK DAVIS
- After serving approximately 5 years in the U.S. Army, Bruce Frederick Davis left his post in Germany.(53) He defected to East Germany in August 1960, and spent a month in East Berlin before entering the Soviet Union. (54)
- In October 1960, two articles appeared in Izvestiva and Pravda with statements by Davis attributing his defection to disillusionment with U.S. foreign and military. policy.(55) Although Davis physically defected, he did not officially denounce his American citizenship and was documented by the Soviet as a stateless person.(56)
- Davis was settled in Kiev as a student at the Kiev Institute of National Economy.(57) He was provided a free dormitory room and a stipend of 900 old rubles a month.(58) This is three times what Soviet students receive, but normal for a non-Soviet-bloc student. (59) In October Davis wrote a friend of his in the Army stated he was given an outright sum of 10,000 old rubles; it is known if this is true. (60) He was promised a free apartment if his unauthorized travel was discontinued and his grades were improved. (61)
- In August 1962, Davis appeared at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow to request an American passport.(62) He phoned the Embassy the following day and stated he would not be completing the application as he had been arrested for his participation m a brawl Kiev. (63) He returned to the Embassy in October 1962 and was issued a passport and entry visa into West Germany.(64) Davis, allowed the passport and visa to expire due to a new Soviet girl friend he had met. (65)
- In 1963 Davis visited the Embassy on an unauthorized trip January to make statements concerning his dissatisfaction and deliver papers from another disgruntled U.S. citizen.(66) In May he made another trip to renew his passport and reapply for a West German visa.(67) Davis was returned to military control in July 1963.(68)
V. SHIRLEY DUBINSKY
- Shirley Dubinsky wrote several letters from East Berlin to Soviet Premier Khrushchev denouncing her American citizenship and requesting Soviet citizenship in October 1961.(69) On December 95, 1962, she arrived in Moscow after purchasing a 3-day tour from a travel agency in Switzerland. (70) She refused to leave the Soviet Union when her visa had expired. (71)
- The American Embassy in Moscow was informed by the Hotel Metropole that an American guest there, Dubinsky, was acting "queer?' (72) She was committed to a mental hospital on January 5, 1963, with $100 in her possession. (73) The diagnosis was "schizophrenic break."(74)Soviet psychiatrists advised that Dubinsky was unable to travel and extended treatment was necessary. (75) The American Embassy informed the State Department of the situation. (76)'
- It was reported that Dubinsky had visited the offices of Department of Visas and Registration, apparently to obtain Soviet citizenship. (77) When she attempted to visit the offices of the Supreme Soviet in the Kremlin she was turned over to Intourist. (78)
- A repatriation loan, in the form of a plane ticket to New York, was awarded to Shirley Dubinsky, and she returned to the United States on Febru- ary 1, 1963.(79)
VI. JOSEPH DUTKANICZ
- Joseph Dutkanicz informed the American Embassy that in 1958 while he was stationed in Germany with the U.S. Army, he was approached by KGB officers and, because of threats and inducements, was recruited.(80) His wife stated that he often spoke of fleeing to the Soviet Union during 1959.(81) The Soviets recommended that Dutkanicz defect in May 1960 and a Western bloc investigation for security reasons prompted him to do so.(82) Two weeks prior to his scheduled return to the United States in June 1960, Dutkanicz took his wife and three children on a trip.(83) They visited Czechoslovakian Embassy in Vienna, then, passing through Czechoslovakia, were escorted to the Ukraine, Soviet Union. (84) After being driven to L'vov, the family was settled in first-class accommodations, with KGB assistance.(85)
- Tass announced the Dutkanicz family had sought assistance in July 1960. (86) Articles began appearing that gave autobiographical statements on the history and motivation for defection in anti-American terms. (87) Later an article by Dutkanicz was published that indicated he was living in L'vov with his family and contained anti-Hitler and anti-U.S. propaganda. (88) Two radio broadcasts were made in Moscow also.(89)
- Dutkanicz stated he never applied for or requested Soviet citizenship.(90) A private bill bestowing citizenship on him, Supreme Soviet decree No. 135/3, was enacted in March 1960, before he defected.(91) September 1060, a Soviet passport was delivered to him.(92) His wife was documented as a foreigner upon request and his children as Soviet citizens.(93)
- Dutkanicz was given employment as a technician in a TV factory for an undisclosed salary and his wife taught English conversation lessons for 10 rubles a month. (94)
- Although they moved into an apartment in 1061, the daily contact by Russian agents that Dutkanicz's wife described during their first 6 months, did not end.(95) During a March 6, 1967, visit to the American Embassy she stated that the secret police (KGB) were in constant contact with her husband, telephoning daily, and that 1960 were watching them closely."(96)
- The American Embassy received a letter from Dutkanicz's wife, Mary, on September 14, 1961, requesting a visa to visit her sick mother in the United States.(97) It stated she thought her husband was only visiting the Soviet Union at the time of his defection and that her passport had been taken from her.(98) She appeared at the Embassy on December 5, 1961, for a passport, stating her mother had died.(99) Mary was sent back to L'vov.(101)
- An application to the Red Cross was filed in February or March 1962 for a loan of 500 rubles to be used for a trip to Moscow.(102) The request is denied "although the so-called Soviet Red Cross had given large sums of money to other defectors who were American born and had no KGB connection."(103)
- During Mary Dutkanicz's visa processing visits to the Embassy, she revealed that her husband was thoroughly disillusioned and wanted to return to the United States regardless of any charges.(104) She explained that her husband was encouraged by the fact he had received an undesirable discharge from the Army, not dishonorable.(105)
- Dutkanicz requested the Embassy to aid his children and himself in returning to the United States on March 22, 1962 (the day after his wife departed to the United States).(106) The FBI and CIA did not want Dutkanicz brought back on their account, but on August 15, 1962, the State Department advised the Embassy to issue him a passport.(107) The file reflected that the Embassy could not reach Dutkanicz on the phone prior to November 22, 1963. (108)
- Dutkanicz's children, ages 11, 9, and 8, stated that on July 25, 1963. they were taken from their home and placed in boarding schools (the 11-year-old had been in school previously).(109) They were allowed to see their father once and he had cried, saying that. "they" wanted to do something to his nervous system to make him an idiot. (110)
- Mary Dutkanicz was informed that her husband had been found in a drunken state, placed in the hospital in L'vov and died in November 1963.(111) The U.S. consul was informed in March 1964, that the three children would be allowed to leave the Soviet Union.(112) The children were to be documented as Soviet citizens for the departure, but were to travel on U.S. passports after crossing Soviet borders.(113) In May 1964, the children joined Mary Dut- kanicz in the United States. (114)
VII. MARTIN GREENDLINGER
- A mathematician at New York University, Martin Greendlinger attended the World Youth Festival held in Moscow in 1957. (115) He met Yelena Ivanovna Pyatnitskaya, nee Kapustina, a student at the Lenin Pedagogical Institute. (116)
- Greendlinger returned to the Soviet Union in April 1958, and within a month had married Yelena. (117) He had been encouraged to believe her passport and Soviet exit visa would be issued in 3 to 4 months by OVIR. (118) Greendlinger meant to bring his wife, her daughter by a previous marriage, and possibly a child of their own marriage to the United States. (119)
- In July 1959 Greendlinger left his home in Borisoglebsk and returned to the United States alone.(12O) After a year, the Soviet authorities had issued his wife an exit visa to depart from the U.S.S.R.(121) The U.S. Embassy, however, refused to issue an entrance visa due to her membership in Komsomol after 1947 and in trade union after 1951. (122)
- Greendlinger applied to the State Department for his wife's entry visa in August 1960.(123) In September he received a U.S. passport to visit his wife and child for a month and was awarded National Science Foundation fellowship for 1 year.(124)
- It was December 1960 before Greendlinger returned to Moscow.(125) He and his wife spoke to American Embassy personnel about acquiring an entrance visa. (126) The Embassy stated his wife could not receive an entrance visa to the United States because there could be no waiver of section 243(g) of the act.(127) The CIA file on Greendlinger states: This apparently involved Komsomol membership, although the Soviet wives of Parker and Oswald--q.v.--had many more drawbacks and were let in. (128)
- When Greendlinger applied for visas at the British Embassy he was told that his wife would be issued a visa if he could get a job in England and guarantee support. (129) He settled in Ostankine, a suburb of Moscow, and worked as a mathematician. (130) Finally, the National Science Foundation approved his studying math at Manchester, England. (131) No further information is known. (132)
VIII. NICHOLAS PETRULLI
- An American laborer, Nicholas Petrulli purchased an organized tour to Western Europe and the U.S.S.R. for $965.(133) He entered the Soviet Union at Vyborg on August 10, 1959, using a regular 7-day tourist visa issued in Washington the previous month. The tour passed through Leningrad en route to Moscow where it was to remain until August 18. (134) Petrulli did not show up at the train station to depart from Moscow. (135) He canceled his ship reservations through an Intourist guide and remained in the Ukraine Ho- tel.(136)
- Petrulli spoke to several Americans in the hotel restaurant the following week about his decision to remain in the Soviet Union.(137) He had no communistic sympathies or ideological leaning toward the U.S.S.R. and had no grievances against the United States. (138) Petrulli believed there was a good opportunity to obtain employment in the Soviet Union, although he did not know the language, people, or country. (139)
- A resident American correspondent encouraged Petrulli to tell the Embassy in Moscow about his intention to defect. (14O) On August 28, 1959, Petrulli was interviewed for 2 hours by an Embassy official, Snyder.(141) The correspondent was present when Petrulli explained his reasons for staying and how he had learned the procedure for remaining from the hotel manager and Intourist guide. (142) He stated no one had induced or influenced him. (143) Petrulli stated that upon the guide's advice, he had drafted a letter to the Supreme Soviet requesting Soviet citizenship, but had not sent it yet. (144) He stated be had informed the intourist guide he was virtually out of money.(145) He did, however, have possession of ship and plane tickets for his return to the United States. (146) Petrulli was given the name of a Catholic priest in Moscow he subsequently spoke to who warned about possible exploitation, and so forth.(147)
- The following day Petrulli sent the letter to the Supreme Soviet.(148) He told the Embassy it contained five points as specified by the Intourist guide: (1) date and place of birth; (9,) names and addresses of relatives; (3) property and bank accounts (none); (4) skills, education, and work record; and (5) moral and ideological reasons for wanting Soviet citizenship. (149) Petrulli would not relate what he had written for No. 5 or if it was derogatory to the United States. (150)
- Petrulli visited the American Embassy on September. 9, 1959, turned in his passport, stated he had sent the letter to the Supreme Soviet and asked to renounce his U.S. citizenship. (151) Snyder explained the irrevocabi]ity of renunciation and told Petrulli to return in the afternoon. (152) He did so and Snyder administered the oath of renunciation. (153)
- Several people were told by Petrulli that he felt "morally and economically at home in the Soviet Union," that they were trying to do things right, that people were not in a hurry and not nervous wrecks.(154) He said he had many jobs in the United States and he was not happy there; he liked the Soviet Union better.(155)
- Petrulli visited the American Embassy. again on September 8, 1959 and asked for a written statement of his citizenship status for the Soviet authorities. (156) When told that the Embassy would inform him as soon as the State Department informed them, Petrulli began requesting information on visa requirements to the U.S.(157) The Soviet authorities had not responded to his letters on job requests and Petrulli felt he was getting the run-around.(158) His hotel was being paid for by the Soviets but he was without money, friends or the ability to communicate with Russians.(159). Petrulli left the Embassy and told an American correspondent he just wanted to go home. (160)
- On September 14, 1959, a Soviet official informed Petrulli he should have applied at the Soviet Embassy in Washington for citizenship. (161) The manager of the Ukraina Hotel told him he had 2 days to vacate the premises.(162) Both men told him he had to leave the Soviet Union and needed some type of traveling document from the American Embassy. (163)
- The next day Petrulli was back at the Embassy.(164) It is unknown if he applied for a passport during this visit, but a September 19, 1959, newspaper article stated that the State Department had declared Petrulli legally incompetent and returned his U.S. citizenship. (165) He was given a one-way passport to the United States and returned to his home m New York on September 22, 1959. (166)
IX. LIBERO RICCIARDELLI
- Libero Ricciardelli decided that exposing his family to a socialistic system of government might straighten out domestic problems and guarantee his children's future well-being. (167) In 1958 he visited the Soviet Embassy in Washington. D.C., and asked to visit Soviet Russia.(168) Ricciardelli obtained Soviet visas to tour Moscow for six days with his wife and three children, and did so in February 1959.(169)
- When his Intourist guide learned that he wanted to defect, she recommended that Ricciardelli visit the visa department, Intourist Service Bureau. (170) He did so and was informed that he must depart on the expiration date on his visa.(171) Ricciardelli did not depart and was not pressured to do so. (172) He continued to visit the visa department and wrote the President of the RSFSR as was recommended to him by Intourist. (173)
- Financial aid was requested by Ricciardelli because he had $500 and 6 days of meal tickets on him.(174) The director of the Soviet Union Red Crescent or Red Cross and a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs met with Ricciardelli and discouraged remaining in the Soviet Union. (175) An investigation concerning Ricciardelli's application for a visa at the Soviet Embassy in the United States was begun.(176)
- Riccardelli contracted influenza, which developed into rheumatic fever and was placed in a hospatal for 3 weeks.(177) While there, he was visited by representatives of the Red Cross and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who announced he could remain in the Soviet Union and the Red Cross would be responsible for him.(178) They helped Ricardelli fill out forms, and the Soviet in charge of Intouristat the hotel arranged for aid from the International Red Cross.(179)
- After Ricciardelli returned from the hospital, he was questioned from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. by a journalist from "Izvestia" and presumably a Red Cross Representative(180) Ricciardelli signed a statement that dealt with having conditions in the United States as compared to the Soviet Union and information that would protect the Soviets from allegations he was being held against his will.(181) These articles later appeared in "Pravda" and "Izvestia."(182) When Ricciardelli could understand enough Russian to read the articles he did so and felt they, were slanted, self-serving statements condemning life in the United States. (183)
- Although Ricciardelli applied for Soviet citizenship, his wife refused to do so. (184) Subsequent to this application for citizenship, the director of the Red Cross in Moscow and a reprentative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs arranged for a move to a climate more suitable to Ricciardelli's health (185) He had requested a home Kiev or L'vov.(186)
- In July 1959. Ricciardelli arrived in Kiev and was presented with an Internal Russian Passport, indicating he was a Soviet citizen.(187) No oath of allegiance was taken and Ricciardelli did not give up his U.S. passport and did not feel as if he had given up his U.S. citizenship. (188) The Soviets considered all his children Soviet citizens although his wife refused to accept the passport offered to her. (189)
- Ricciardelli sketched ideas for new tools and machines as mechanical engineer for the Main Operation for Building Construction. (190) He was required to join a trade union but refused to vote or give speeches at the meeting when asked.(191)
- With his salary of 150 new rubles, Ricciardelli rented a thirdfloor walkup apartment consisting of four rooms and a bath. (192) As rent was only seven to nine rubles a month, there was a]so money for a TV and radio. (193) For 2 rubles a month, Ricciardelli kept a phone in his apartment, though it took him 2 years to get it installed. (194) Ricciardelli traveled on five or six trips to Moscow from Kiev and went on a vacation to Gagua, Cavcasas on the Black Sea. (195)
- There were few visitors to the Ricciardelli apartment, and those that came believed it was wired for sound. (196)
- In the summer of 1960, Ricciardelli visited the Czechoslovakian Embassy in Moscow and applied for visas.(197) After his children had received an education, Ricciardelli felt it would be easier to return to the United States from Czechoslovakia than the Soviet Union. (198) Two years later when the entrance visas were granted, the Soviets refused to grant exit visas. (199)
- Ricciardelli's domestic problems had increased by August 1962 and he decided his wife should return to her parents' home in Illinois and he would return to his parents' home with the three children. (200) Ricciardelli applied for a renewed U.S. passport and was told his citizen- ship was terminated when he accepted Soviet citizenship. (201) On March 27, 1963, his wife left the Soviet Union for the United States after filling out an application to have him granted a permanent resident visa as the husband of a U.S. citizen. (202) Ricciardelli applied as an alien to return to the United States on a permanent resident visa. (203) The U.S. Embassy granted the visa in June 1963, and after 14-day delay over whether his oldest daughter was a Soviet citizen he and his children flew to New York. (204)
X. VLADIMIR SLOBODA
- Vladimir Sloboda became a naturalized citizen of the United States on August 14, 1958, and was assigned to the 513th Military Intelligence Group, U.S. Army, with duty station at Frankfurt, Germany. (205)
- August 1960, Sloboda defected into East Germany, requesting Soviet asylum. (206) Although his wife said he was extremely worried about gambling debts, his 201 file, maintained by the CIA reflects that "emotional state and fact of Army countermeasures caused by arrest of 154 MID agents recently" are probably responsible for defection. (207) Sloboda later explained he had been blackmailed and framed into defecting. (208)
- Immediately after Sloboda's defection, he was utilized by the Soviets for propaganda purposes.(209) In an August interview on Moscow TV, Sloboda based his defection on the expressed views that the United States was a warmonger with spy activity in Germany.(210) The September issue of Golos Roding repeated this as did other articles and various press releases (211) According to one of the later articles Sloboda was given Soviet citizenship in August 1960, the month he defected. (212)
- Sloboda's British wife requested that the Soviet consul in London arrange transportation for herself and three children to the Soviet Union. (213) Travel arrangements were made to Leningrad and all expenses, such as shipment of furniture and transportation tickets were paid for by the Soviets.(214) A Russian Intelligence Service (RIS) resettlement officer made arrangements for travel from Leningrad to L'vov.(215).When she and the children joined Sloboda on November 19, 1960, he was already having doubts about his defection(216)
- Soviet authorities provided Sloboda with approximately 300 rubles a month and a three-room flat in L'vov for his parents, with and children. (217)
- In early 1962 Sloboda's wife requested an exit visa from the L'vov authorities.(218) She called the American. Embassy and informed them that both she and her husband were desperate to return to the United States. (219) In March she received an exit visa and passport, (220) Sloboda and his wife then visited the British Embassy discuss bringing her Son and daughter out of the Soviet Union with her. (221)Sloboda explained to the Embassy that he was afraid to visit the American Embassy. (222) He stated that his wife and oldest and youngest children had been issued Soviet internal passports for foreigners. (223) He stated his other child was a U.S. citizen with an expired passport. (224)
- Sloboda's wife took the youngest child to England, leaving the eldest at the International Boarding School and the other son at day school.(225) On her departure she was given 50 rubles to purchase present for her mother. (226)
- The British Embassy sent a representative to visit Sloboda in August 19612. (227) They learned that "he had been subjected to fairly frequent questioning by the KGB in L'vov since he visited the embassy in Moscow." (228)
- In March 1963, Sloboda's wife sent him a telegram stating she was returning to the Soviet Union so the eldest sons should not be sent. (229)
XI. ROBERT WEBSTER
- Robert E. Webster, an employee of the Rand Development Co., made several trips to the Soviet Union in order to prepare for the 1959 U.S. exhibition in Moscow. (230) While there for 7 weeks, beginning in May 1959, Webster steadily dated the hostess employed at the Hotel Ukraine's tourist restaurant. (231) She worked there during the period correspondents accompanying Vice President Nixon's visit to the U.S.S.R. resided there, and was suspected of being a KGB agent. (232) Webster informed his girlfriend he wished to divorce his wife in the United States and return to the Soviet Union to marry her. (233)
- Webster first revealed his desire to defect on July 11, 1959. He approached the two Soviet officials in charge of arrangements for the exhibi- tion at the fairgrounds and requested information concerning the procedures for a U.S. citizen to remain in the U.S.S.R. (235) Webster was told to call one of the officials in their Solkolniki Park office and a meeting was set up.(236)
- A few days later, the English-speaking official Webster had met previously, escorted him to a private room in a restaurant. (237) A represen- tative of the Soviet Government, questioned him about his desire to remain in the Soviet Union.(238) The representative was also interested in whether Webster had told other Americans of his interest to defect and instructed him not to. (239) While intoxicated with vodka Webster was told to write a letter to the Supreme Soviet requesting to remain as a Soviet citizen. (240) He did so and was given a biographic data sheet to take with him and fill out.(241)
- Subsequently when Webster submitted the data sheet, he stated that his dissatisfaction with the United States was due to the tendency of American employers to hire a man and then fire him when he had learned the job. (242) This reason was not acceptable because Webster had not personally experienced this. (243) He rewrote the form to state that in the United States, Government controlled big business.(244) He also wrote that he wished to work, marry, have children, earn a degree and learn the Russian language in the Soviet Union.(245) Although he stated he wished to cooperate in every way with the Soviet Union, the Soviet authorities tried to dissuade Webster from defecting.(246)
- In the last of July or early August, Webster attended what described as a serious, no drinking meeting held in a private restaurant room at the Metropole Hotel.(247) Webster told two Soviet chemists he could help them make the Rand spray gun he had demonstrated at the U.S. Exhibition.(248) On September 9 he was told he had been accepted by the Soviets. (249) Although he had requested to work in Moscow, Webster was informed he would be sent to Leningrad. (250 )
- The following day the Soviet officials registered Webster at the Bucharist Hotel, and instructed him not to leave.(254) He was given 1,000 old rubles and asked to write a note to a Rand employee requesting the money be left for him at the hotel because he was on a tour of Russia. (252)
- There was a short party for Webster on September 11. (253) He was immediately flown to Leningrad with an interpreter and met by an Intourist representative.(254) He applied for work at the Leningrad Scientific Research Institute, Polymerized Plastics and lived in the Baltiskaya Hotel for a month. (255) He was allowed to call his girlfriend and she was allowed to visit and make plans for a vacation. (256)
- On October 17, 1959 Webster was staying in Moscow.(257) He artended a meeting at the central office, visas and registrar, ion (OVIR) with the original Soviet representative he had contact with, an unknown Soviet, H.J. Rand. his assistant George H. Bookbinder and Richard E. Snyder of the U.S. Embassy. (258) Webster stated he was free to speak, and told Snyder when he had applied for Soviet citizenship, he had been granted a Soviet passport on September 21, 1959.(259) He filled out a form entitled "Affidavit for Expatriated Person" and wrote his resignation to Rand Development Corp. (260)
- Webster later explained he had no Soviet documentation at the time, having in his possession an American passport which he never sent to Snyder as requested.(261) Webster stated the Soviets had instructed him to say his reasons for defecting were political. (262)
- Webster's girlfriend joined him the following day and both went on a month vacation at the Suitland Sanitarium in Sochi. (263) They returned to Leningrad and began work at the institute, where his girlfriend was employed as an assistant and translator. (264) Webster received 280 rubles per month and a semiannual bonus of 50 to 60 rubles. (265) He lived with his girlfriend in a new apartment building and had three rooms with a bath. (266)
- After writing a summary of his life, listing his relatives and where they worked, submitting pictures of himself and undergoing medical examination, Webster was granted a Soviet internal passport.(267) In December 1959 or January 1960, he turned over his American passport and obtained the Soviet passport at the OVIR office in Leningrad. (268)
- On January 27, 1960, a letter was delivered to Webster from his father.(269) It contained news of his mother's nervous breakdown and word that his father had assumed financial support of Webster's children. (270) At that point, Webster decided to return to the United States.(271)
- A note in Webster's file stated that on April 6, 1969, he was to give a speech on the United States, although there was no indication whether he, in fact, did make the address. (272)
- The original Soviet representative in Moscow arranged for Webster and his girlfriend to visit there for the May Day celebration.(273) Webster entered the U.S. Embassy unchallenged, due to his American clothing.(274) He informed John McVicker that he wished to return to the United States. (275) He was told to apply for a Soviet exit visa. (276)
- Webster requested two notarized invitations for his return to the United States, to be made by his father, copies to be sent to the American Embassy. (277) His girl friend helped him fill out the application for a Soviet exit visa and gave her consent, which was required. (278)
- Webster's girlfriend gave birth to Svetlana Robertovna Webster in August 1960.(279) The child was immediately adopted by Webster and reistered. (280) During the majority of the time after this. Svetlana's Russian grandmother also lived in the Webster apartment.(281) Webster was assigned a new translator at the Institute.(282)
- Two months after submitting his application for a Soviet exit visa, Webster was turned down and told he could not reapply for 1 year. (283) Soviet officials visited him from Moscow, inquiring why he was unhappy and suggesting that he send for his family from the United States.(284) One year later he reapplied, and in February 1962. Webster was granted a Soviet exit visa.(285)
- In March 1962, the American Embassy gave Webster instructions on how to obtain an American entrance visa.(286) His father sent him a plane ticket for his passage home, and Webster quit his job (287) It was May before Webster actually surrender his internal Soviet passport for his exit visa. (288) Webster arrived in the United States as an alien under the Russian quota on May 20, 1962. (289) He had never intended to aid his girlfriend in leaving the Soviet Union. (290)
XII. LEE HARVEY OSWALD
- In comparing Oswald's defection to the other 11 individuals in this study, certain points must be taken into consideration. The Warren Commission requested through the State Department that the Soviet Government provide "any further available information concerning the activities of Lee Harvey Oswald during his residence from 1959 to 1962 in the Soviet Union, in particular, copies of any official records concerning him." (291) In May 1964 the Soviet Union provided approximately 15 documents concerning the sojourn employment and medical history of Oswald while in their country. (292) The documents also dealt with the departure of Oswald and his wife from the U.S.S.R. (293)
- No documents appear to be from the KGB or make mention of Oswald's being debriefed by it. (294)There are some dates, times, and facts in the documents that differ from Oswald's statements. (295) The signatures of most of the Soviet officials are illegible. (296) The authenticity of these documents could not be established, but they must be taken into consideration. It was the only case in this study in which the Soviet Union added to the existing body of information.
- The committee also had available to it statements and a diary that handwriting experts determined were written by Lee Harvey Oswald. (297) The diary covered the period Oswald was in the Soviet Union. (298). The committee found all of Oswald's writings concerning his life in the Soviet Union to be generally credible. To a great extent, they parallel the documents provided by the Soviet Union on Oswald in 1964; that is, that he was in the Soviet Union during the time period stated; that he attempted suicide; that he worked at radio plant in Minsk; that he met and married a Russian woman; that he was originally issued a residence visa for stateless persons and then a residence visa for foreigners; that he obtained exit visas for himself and his family, and left the Soviet Union. (299)
- The committee tried to determine the credibility of both the Soviet documents and Oswald's writings, and in doing so endeavored to obtain any additional information. Witnesses before the committee stated that the Soviet Government would have additional information on Oswald from its surveillance of him. (300) Through the State Department. the committee requested the Soviet Union to provide any documentation on Oswald they might possess. (301) The Soviet was requested to allow the interviewing of the Soviet citizens Oswald mentions throughout his diary.(392) The State Department was informed by Soviet officials that no additional information was available and Soviet citizens could not be interviewed.
- Thus, information that the committee has collected and used concerning Oswald's stay in the Soviet Union for this study, is only partially complete.
- Lee Harvey Oswald was issued an entry visa to the Soviet Union by the U.S.S.R. consul in Helsinki, Finland, on October 14, 1959. (303) Stamps on Oswald's passport show he entered Finland October 10 and left on October 15. (304)
- On October 16, Oswald arrived in Moscow after crossing the border from Finland at Vyborg. (305) He was escorted to the Hotel Berlin by an Intourist representative who met him at his train. (306) There, he registered as a student on a 5-day luxury tourist ticket and met his Intourist guide Rimma Shirikova. (307)
- Oswald wrote in the October 16 entry of his diar y, referring to Rimma:
I explain to her I wish to apply for Rus.* citizenship. She is flabbergassed but aggrees to help. She checks with her boss. main office Intour, than helps me add a letter to Sup. Soviet asking for citizenship, meanwhile boss telephones passport & visa office and notifies them about me. (308) Rimma insisted they continue sightseeing the following day and asked Oswald himself and his reasons for defecting. (309) Oswald believed his explanation concerning his Communist beliefs makes Rimma uneasy. (310)
*Spelling is as it appears in document.
- On October 20 Oswald was told by Rimma that the Passport & Visa Department had requested to see him.(311) Oswald wrote in the October 21 entry of his diary: Meeting with a single official, balding stout, black suit, fairly good English, asks what do I want? I say Soviet citi- zenship, he ask why I give vague answers about "Great Soviet Union" He tells me "U.S.S.R. only great in literature wants me to go back home"l am stunned I reiterate he says he shall check and let me know weather my visa will be (extended it exipires today). (312) Oswald wrote that at 6 p.m. a police official informs him he must leave the Soviet Union in 2 hours. (313) At 7 p.m. he decided to commit suicide and wrote "when Rimma comes at S p.m. to find me dead, it will be a great shock." (314) Oswald stated that about 8 p.m. Rimma found him unconscious and he was taken to the hospital in an ambulance for stitches. (315)
- The Ministry of Health records supplied, reflect that Oswald was admitted to "Botkin Hospital at 16:00 (4 p.m.) on October 21, 1959 upon request at 15h. 19."(316) He received an examination in the admission's department at 4:30 p.m. where a skin wound was found on the lower third of the left forearm. (317) Oswald was given four stitches and an aseptic bandage for the iramediate wound and kept in a psvchosomatic department"for observation. (318) The report stated that 'Oswald's mind was c]ear his perception was correct and he inflicted the injury upon himself in order to postpone his departure from the Soviet Union. (319) Oswald was transferred to the somatic department on October 23. (320)
- Oswald's hospital records stated that ha was visited by the head of the Service Bureau and daily by an interpreter.(321) His place of employment was listed "K-4-19-80 Service Bureau. Radio technician," which was the only other mention of the Service Bureau. (322)
- The authenticity of the hospital records can in no way be determined. One indication that they may not be valid documents was the April 25,1953 date that appeared at the bottom of Oswald's blood analysis. (323)
- Oswald wrote in his diary that while in the hospital he was visited daily by Rimma and on October 23 by Rosa Agafonova, from the hotel tourist office. (324)
- Oswald's diary and the hospital reports reflected he was discharged from the hospital on October 28. (325) He wrote in the diary that Rimma chauffeured him from the hospital to the Hotel Berlin where he picked up his clothes and money, $100, and moved to the Hotel Metropole.(326) Oswald stated he Was invited to visit with Ludmilla Dimitrova, Inturist office head and Rosa. (327)
- Oswald also wrote that on October 28 he visited the pass and registration office with Rimma. (328) He stated there were four known officials that asked questions about the last official he had met with and his desires for the future.(329) Oswald requested Soviet citizenship again and provided his discharge papers from the Marine Corps as identification.(330) Oswald described this meeting in discouraging manner. (331)
- On October 31, Oswald visited the American Embassy in Moscow.(332) Consul at the Embassy, Richard Snyder, informed the committee that he had no information concerning Oswald before he walked into the Embassy. (333) Snyder said: He handed me a handwritten statement which stated, in effect, that he renounced his American citizenship. I used the pretext that the Embassy was not officially open that day and, therefore, I was not in a position to prepare the re- quired form to go through with the renunciation and invited him to come back on the first business day of the Embassy if he so wished. I retained his passport at that time.(334) Snyder recalled that Oswald had made some comment that "he had worked, or advised, or something to that effect, what I would try to tell him and that he didn't want to waste his time or mine."(335) Snyder was told by Oswald that he had been a radar operator in the Marine Corps and that he intended to give information he possessed to the Soviets. (336)
- Oswald wrote in his diary that when he returned from the Embassy he was contacted by two American reporters in Moscow, named Goldstein and Mosby. (337) Although he did not grant interviews to either, he answered a few questions for Mosby. (338)
- Alice Mosby wrote an article, dateline November 14, containing Oswald's statements to her.(339) It said that imperialism and lack of money while a child were Oswald's main reasons for saving $1,600 and coming to the Soviet Union.(340) "He had announced on October 31 that he renounced his U.S. citizenship and was seeking Soviet citizenship for purely political reasons."(341) Oswald was denied the Soviet citizenship he had requested but was allowed to live freely in Russia. (342)
- Among Oswald's belongings was a handwritten account of his "interview November 14 with Miss Mosby."(343) Oswald wrote that Mosby agreed to let him see the story before it was sent out. (344) He explained to her the political reasons he went to the Soviet Union and applied for citizenship and how he developed those political beliefs.(345) 'Oswald made no comment about his present situation in the Soviet Union.
- In Oswald's diary he stated that during December he stayed in the hotel studying Russian, seeing no one except Rimma, who called the ministry for him. (347) She had told the hotel he would be receiving a great deal of money from the United States so he paid no bills that month. (348) Oswald recorded that he only had $28 left. The passport office had met with Oswald again and he wrote that the same questions were answered by three new officials.(350)
- Oswald's application to the Visa and Registration Office, Interior Department, Executive Committee of the Moscow City Council for the issuance of an identity bore the date December 29, 1959. (351)
- Oswald wrote that the passport office issued him a Soviet document "for those without citizenship on January 4" '352 He stated he was told that he would be sent to Minsk and that the Red Cross would provide him with money. (353)
- The Soviet document that bore a January 5, 1960, date was Oswald's receipt stating that the legal status of a person without citizenship has been explained to him, and his receipt for an identity card Series P No. 31179 issued by OVIRMoscow City Executive Committee on January 4, 1960, with expiration date January 4, 1961. (354)
- Oswald wrote that January 5 he was given 5,000 rubles by the Red Cross, 2,200 of which paid the hotel bill and 150 of which purchased the train ticket to Minsk. (355)
- In the January 7 entry, Oswald described being met at the train station in Minsk by two Red Cross workers, then proceeding to the where he met two Intourist representatives. (356)
- An application and autobiographical sketch written by Oswald in connection with his employment at the radio factory in Minsk bore the date January 11, 1960.(357) Oswald also received the signature of the doctor and trainer in safety and fire precautions of the Minsk radio plant. (358) On January 13, he was hired in the experimental shop at the radio factory as a checker. (359) Oswald stated that he received 700 rubles a month from his job and another 700 rubles a month from the Soviet Red Cross. (360) He wrote "therefore every month I make 1400 R, about the same as a director of the factory." (361)
- In a March 16 entry Oswald wrote: "I received a small flat one-room kitchen-bath near the factory (8 min. walk) with splendid view from 2 balconies of the river. Almost rent free (60 Rub. a month) it a Russian dream." (362)
- On January 4 1961. Oswald wrote that he was called into the passport office and asked if he wanted Soviet citizenship. He said no, but requested his residential passport be extended. (363) A document provided by the Soviet Government reflected that an identity card a person without citizenship, Series P No. 311479, belonging to Lee Harvey Oswald, was entered from January 4, 1961 to January 1962.(364)
- Another document provided by the Soviets was a certificate from the Minsk Radio Plant, Administration of Electrotechnical and Instrument Manufacturing Industry. Council of the National Economy, U.S.S.R., bearing dates January 1, 1960, and July 15, 1961, that Lee Harvey Oswald was employed as an assembler there. (365)
- The American Embassy received an undated letter from Oswald on February 13. 1961. (366) He stated that he had not received a reply to a December 1960 letter he had written to the Embassy, so he was writing again. (367) Oswald requested that his American passport be returned and suggested that some agreement be reached concerning any legal action proceeding against him so he could return to the United States. (368) He stated:"They have at no time insisted that I take Russian Citizenship?' (369) "I am living here with nonpermanent-type papers for a foreigner."(370) The return address listed on the envelope was Ulitsa Kalinina, House 4 Apartment 24, Minsk; and Oswald said he could not leave without permission. (371)
- In a letter dated February 28, 1961, Snyder requested that Oswald appear in person at the Embassy to determine his citizenship status.(372) Snyder explained that the December 1960 letter, which Oswald had mentioned, was never received. (373)
- Oswald wrote the Embassy again in March 1961. He stated he could leave Minsk without permission and would find it inconvenient to visit Moscow for an interview.(374) He requested that preliminary inquiries be sent in questionnaire form. (375)
- Oswald artended a trade dance in Minsk on March 17 and described meeting Marina N. Prusakova. (376) Records provided by Ministry of Health. U.S.S.R., reflected that on March 30 Oswald was admitted to a clinical hospital--ear, nose, and throat division. (377) According to these records, he was discharged on April 11, 1961, and he wrote in his diary that he proposed to Marina 4 days later.
- The date on a certificate of marriage for Marina and Lee Oswald from the Minsk Civil Registrar Office of Leninsky District is April 30, 1961.(379) The entry in Oswald's diary concerning his marriage also bears this date. (380)
- In a letter dated May 1961. Oswald informed the Embassy he had married a Russian-born woman who would travel to the, United States with him. (381) He wrote that a marriage stamp was placed on his present passport for an individual without citizenship.(382) Oswald said, "I am asking not only for the right to return to the United States, but also for full guarantees that I shall not under any circumstances, be persecuted for any act pertaining to this case "(383)
- The July 8 entry in Oswald's diary described an airplane trip to Moscow for his first interview at the Embassy since his attempt to denounce American citizenship.(384) Oswald stated that he took no oath, affirmation, or allegiance of any kind nor was he required to sign any kind of papers in connection with his employment. (385) He denied being a member of the factory trade union or ever having been asked to join. (386) Oswald gave his earnings as 90 new rubles per month.(387) This contradicted an earlier entry in his diary that he made the equivalent of 70 new rubles as a salary and 70 new rubles supplement per month. (388)
- Oswald denied making statements of an exploitable nature concerning his original decision to reside in the Soviet Union. (389) He remembered being interviewed in his room at the Metropole Hotel by a reporter from Radio Moscow concerning his impressions of Moscow as an American tourist. (390) He stated he had never been asked to make any statements for radio, press or audiences since his arrival. (391) This contradicts his first comment and what he wrote in January 13--March 16, 1960 entries in his diary. "I meet many young Rus- sian workers my own age. * * * All wish to know about me even offer to hold a mass meeting so I can say. I refuse politely." (392)
- When asked if he had provided information he had acquired, as a radar operator in the Marine Corps, Oswald stated "that he was never in fact subjected to any questioning or briefing by the Soviet authorities concerning his life or experiences prior to entering the Soviet Union and had never provided information to any Soviet organ." (393)
- Oswald stated he never applied for Soviet citizenship. (394) His original application was for permission to remain in the Soviet Union and a temporary extension of his tourist visa pending the outcome of his request. (395) Oswald stated he had addressed this appli- cation and mailed it to the U.S.S.R. Supreme Soviet although it appeared to have been delivered to the central office of the Moscow OVIR. (396) Apparently this was the basis of a notification Oswald stated he received 3 days later that permission had been granted for him to remain in the Soviet Union. (397) Subsequently he was issued a "stateless" internal passport. (398)
- The Embassy returned his passport to him after it was amended to be valid only for direct return to the United States. (399) The passport expiration date was September 10, 1961, but Oswald needed the passport to apply for exit visas immediately in Minsk.
- Oswald wrote "July 9 received passport. Call Marina to Moscow also" (401) Oswald wrote after he and Marina returned to Minsk on July 14, that meetings to persuade Marina not to go to the United States began. (402) Her visit to the Embassy was known. (403)
- The 20 or so papers, birth certificates, affidavits, photos, and so forth needed to apply for exit visas were turned in by Oswald between July 15 and August 20. (404) He writes in the diary that "they say it will be 3 1/2 months before we know whether (sic) they'll let us go or not. (405) The date on Oswald's application to the OVIR Militia Department, Minsk City Executive Committee for the issuance of an exit visa from the U.S.S.R. is July 15, 1961. (406)
- The application Marina had to sign to give permission for her husband to leave the Soviet Union bears a July 19 date. According to Marina's visa application she requests an exit visa to join him on his departure from the Soviet Union, August 21, 1961.
- The personnel department chief and plant director where Oswald worked, issued a report to the Minsk City Militia Department in December 1961. (409) It stated that Oswald: (1) Takes no part in the social life of the shop and keeps very much to himself. (2) Reacts in an oversensitive manner to remarks from the foreman. (3) Is careless in his work. (4) Does not perform satisfactory as a regulator, and (5) Does not display the initiative for increasing his skills as a regulator. (410)
- Oswald wrote in his diary that on Christmas Day 1961 Marina was told at the passport and visa office that she and Oswald were granted exit visas from the Soviet Union. (411) Oswald's application to the Minsk Militia Department for the extension of his identity card bore it January 4, 1962, date. (412) He wrote in his diary he was granted a residence document for foreigners. (413) Identity card for an alien series AA No. 5-19666, received by Lee Harvey Oswald was issued January 4 and was valid until July 2, 1963: (414)
- On February 15 Oswald wrote ,that, June Lee Oswald was born. (415) His diary stated-that Marina formally quit her job March 24 and he received a letter stating her entrance visa to the United States had been approved the following day. (416)
XIII. SOVIET CITIZENSHIP
- Lee Harvey Oswald was not a Soviet citizen during his residence in the Soviet Union. He requested Soviet citizenship by mail on October 16, 1959. On October 21, a Soviet official interviewed Oswald and tried to dissuade him from defecting to the Soviet Union. Later that night a police officer told him he would have to leave the Soviet Union within 2 hours.
- Oswald immediately attempted to commit suicide. His hospital records reflected it was done in an effort to postpone his departure. After a week in the hospital, Oswald applied at the pass and registration office for ,Soviet citizenship. Three days later he orally denounced his American citizenship at ,the Embassy. Although he did so in order to convince the Soviets to grant him citizenship, he was granted a residence visa for foreigners without citizenship. Oswald received this visa on January 4, 1960, 2 1/2 months after his original application. Oswald told American reporters in November that the Soviets would allow him to stay. The January 4 date appears in Oswald's diary and on the residence document provided by Soviet authorities.
- One year later the residence visa was extended after Oswald refused the Soviet citizenship offered to him. When he wrote to the U.S. Embassy in February 1961 he stated the Soviets had not insisted on his acceptance of citizenship. Oswald wrote that he had "nonpermanent type papers" for a foreigner. In January 1960. the Embassy had reissued Oswald's American passport and the Soviets issued him a residence visa for foreigners.
ANALYSIS
- Oswald was not the only American who had difficulty obtaining citizenship while residing in the Soviet Union. Ricciardelli repeatedly requested citizenship from the Visa Department of the Intourist Service Bureau. He was told that he would have to leave the Soviet Union on the expiration date that appeared on his visa. Ricciardelli did not depart and was told he would be allowed to remain only after being hospitalized for rheumatic fever. A Soviet passport was given to Ricciardelli 7 months after he requested it. Although his wife refused a Soviet passport his children were considered Soviet citizens.
- Webster waited 2 months for acceptance by the Soviets. He received Soviet citizenship only after altering his stated reason for defection and assuring the Russians he could manufacture the Rand spray gun he was exhibiting in the Soviet Union.
- Soviet authorities did not grant citizenship to Dubinsky or Petrulli, both of whom left the country. Davis was documented as "stateless person" and allowed to reside in the Soviet Union.
- Sloboda waited 1 month to be granted Soviet citizenship, did his oldest and youngest child. His wife and middle child were issued internal passports for foreigners.
- The Soviets offered citizenship to the Blocks, but they received internal passports for foreigners. After a number of years in the Soviet Union the Blocks were pressed to accept Soviet citizenship, which they would not do.
- In the case of Dutkanicz, the Supreme Soviet, by special decree, granted him citizenship 1 month prior to his defection.
XIV. PROPAGANDA USE AND FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS
- Richard Snyder, the American consul at the Embassy in Moscow was asked about the Soviet use of defectors for propaganda. He said: I think that if there is a usual pattern--and, again, this is difficult to use words like 'usual' because there are never two cases alike in this sort of thing---but if there is a usual pat- tern, it is that there is some exploitation of the defector Soviet public media, usually after the details of his defection have been settled, particularly the detail as to whether the Soviet Union desires to have him. Up to that point, publicity in the Soviet Press probably is not to be expected. He testified that in the Oswald case, there was no known Soviet press or propaganda (418) Marina Oswald's testimony before the Warren Commission was to the contrary. She said that "Lee took part in radio broadcasts, propaganda in favor of the Soviet Union, which he felt helped him to stay in the Soviet Union. (419)
- Oswald wrote in his diary he had been asked to give a speech, which he did not do. He also informed the American Embassy in Moscow that he had made several statements to Lev Sefyayev on his impressions of Moscow as a tourist. The committee found no information that any statements made by Lee Harvey Oswald were used for Soviet propaganda purposes.
- The committee also found no information that the Soviets had used Citrynell, Dubinsky, Greendlinger, Petrulli, or Webster for propaganda purposes. There was no apparent correlation between Soviet citizenship being granted to an individual and subsequent propaganda exploitation as suggested by Snyder. Dubinsky and Petrulli were not granted any type of residence visa and remained the Soviet Union only a short time. Citrynell and Webster became Soviet citizens with relatively little difficulty. There was no information available on Greendlinger's circumstances. Absence of data does not necessarily mean the Soviets made no propaganda use of these five individuals or Oswald.
- Three of the defectors that had anti-American propaganda statements published--Ricciardelli, Slobode, and Dutkanicz--were Soviet citizens. Two other defectors whose anti-American statements received Soviet press, the Blocks, had residence visas for foreigners. They were, however, frequently pressured to accept Soviet citizenship. Davis was the only defector documented. as a "stateless person," as was Oswald, who had anti-American statements published for propaganda purposes.
- Two defectors made the type of propaganda statements during radio broadcasts that Marina Oswald Porter describes Oswald as making. Both these defectors, Slobode and Dutkanicz, had contact with the KGB while stationed in West Germany with the U.S. Army. They were still serving in the Army when they entered the U.S.S.R.
XV. RESIDENCE, EMPLOYMENT, AND FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS
- All the individuals within this study, including Oswald, who received permission to remain in the Soviet Union, were assigned reside in cities within the western portion of the country. Oswald was asigned employment, as were the others, with the exception of who was a student at the Kiev Institute. Slobode also received rubles a month, although his employment is unknown.
- Income comparison was difficult as the number of household members varied over time. Income of additional household members, an important variable, was usually known. The devaluation of the ruble in 1960 confused amounts in some cases. (420)
- Salary was known for Oswald and five other defectors. Financial aid received from organizations like the Soviet Red Cross was also known in most of these cases. Oswald received the lowest salary among the defectors in this study. 70 new rubles. Davis, a single male attending the Kiev Institute, received the salary closest to that made by Oswald. He was paid 90 new rubles and lived in a free dorm room. Oswald, however, was the only individual known to receive a monthly stipend in addition to his salary. He wrote that each month he received the equivalent of 70 new rubles, technically from the Red Cross. It was, in fact, probably arranged for by the M.V.D. (421) This would bring Oswald's monthly income to 140 new rubles. The Blocks and Ricciardellis made close to this amount, but had families to support in addition to themselves. Sloboda and Webster both received over 250 new rub]es a month.
- The defectors also received occasional financial aid. The amount varied greatly from the 10,000 rubles (presumably old rubles, equaling 1,000 new rubles) that Davis wrote a friend he had received and 50 rubles given to SIoboda's wife to buy a present. Oswald received the equivalent of 500 new rubles to pay hotel and transportation bills to Minsk. No defector received payments above 100 new rubles except Oswald and Davis. The CIA 201 file on Davis states that because sum Davis wrote he had received was so fantastically high it was perhaps a mistake.
- Although Oswald received more aid than most of the other in dividuals studied, it is possible that it supplemented the low salary he received. Oswald wrote "it was really payment for my denunciation of the United States in Moscow * * * As soon as I * * * started negotiations with the American Embassy in Moscow for my return to the United States my Red Cross allotment was cut off?' (423)
XVI. SOVIET RELATIONS AND EXIT VISAS
- Two American citizens married Soviet citizens while residing in the U.S.S.R. Oswald had been in the Soviet Union 18 1/2 months when he married Marina N. Prusakova. Two months prior to the marriage, Oswald wrote the American Embassy concerning an agreement that might be made for his return to the United States. A month the marriage he informed the Embassy his wife would be returning to the United States with him. Marina applied for an exit visa to leave the Soviet Union and waited 4 months for it to be granted. Oswald, who had applied for a Soviet exit visa approximately 1 1/2 months earlier than Marina, learned his had been granted with Marina's. He had waited 5 1/2 months for an exit visa.
- Greendlinger's second trip to Moscow in April 1958 resulted Iris marriage to Yelena Ivanovaa Pyatnitskaya within the month. He had been encouraged to believe her passport and Soviet exit visa would be issued in 3 to 4 months by OVIR. After a year, the Soviet authorities issued his wife an exit visa to depart the Soviet Union. The U.S. Embassy refused to issue her an entrance visa due to her membership in Komsomol and a trade union. Because Greendlinger left the Soviet Union in July 1959, it took, at most, 16 months for the Soviets to grant Greendlinger an exit visa. His wife's Soviet exit visa took approximately 12 months to obtain.
- Webster did not marry the woman with whom he lived in the Soviet Union and did not try to arrange for her departure from the U.S.S.R. He applied for a Soviet exit visa for, himself and, after a 2-month wait, was refused and told he could reapply in a year. Webster waited the year and reapplied for an exit visa. The Soviet authorities granted it, and Webster departed for the United States after 14 months.
- Others living in the Soviet. Union were also refused immediate issuance of exit visas. The Blocks had their requests denied or not acted upon for at least 1:29 months until they were expelled for acts of hooliganism and handing out anti-Soviet propaganda. Citrynell reported he was detained in the Soviet Union involuntarily for 8 months.
- It may be assumed Mary Dutkanicz obtained an exit visa because she was allowed out of the Soviet Union on March 22, 1962. Her husband made immediate efforts for his children and himself to depart also. Sixteen months later his children were taken from their home. They spoke to their father once and learned his fears that the Soviets would render him an idiot. Three months after the children's removal, Dutkanicz was reported as dead to Iris wife. The children were allowed to depart from the Soviet Union 6 months after the re- ported death, or 25 months after their mother had left.
- In this analysis, only one Soviet exit visa was granted in a shorter time period than was Oswald's. Sloboda's wife received an exit visa within 3 months of application. Nevertheless, this was the only case in which the visa was an exit-reentry visa, and application procedures may have been different. Reasons for Oswald's short wait obtaining an exit visa are unknown.
XVII. KGB CONTACT
- During Oswald's efforts to regain his American passport, he was questioned by Embassy personnel about his activities in the Soviet Union. He was not candid in all of his responses. This places into doubt Oswald's statement that he had never been subjected to any questioning of briefing by Soviet authorities concerning his life prior to entering the, Soviet Union and that he had never provided information to any Soviet organ. Oswald had previously informed the Embassy that he would provide "information he learned as a radar operator in the Marines.
- Other questions are raised about Oswald's. state. ment by an October 17, 1959, entry in his diary that his Intourist guide "asks me about myself and my reason for doing this. The committee was informed by KGB officers who had defected from the Soviet Union that Intourist guides were frequently used by the KGB as agents or sources of information. Oswald's diary reflects he saw a great deal of his Intourist guide.
- Oswald's diary also described various meetings with Soviet officials to discuss his desire to reside in the Soviet Union. He met with at least five representatives of the pass and registration or visa department. Later Oswald had a meeting with the Soviet Red Cross, and he is met in Minsk by two other Red Cross employees and two Intourist representatives. Oswald wrote in his diary that he kept contact with one of the Intourist representatives for 3% months, and 6 months after that, she attended his 21st birthday party.
- Oswald's diary also contained entries concerning his associates. (424) Marina told the FBI that: She believes he was observed and perhaps his neighbors and associates were questioned concerning his beliefs and his ac- tivities * * * there is a possibility that there will be speculators and espionage agents among tourists and immigrants in Rus- sia * * * for this reason * * * tourists and immigrants are inves-- tigated to a degree in Russia." (425) Marina also informed the FBI that she knew Oswald's contacts and knew of no contact by Russian intelligence or government agencies. (426) Marina did not believe Oswald had been given any assignment to perform, either in Russia or the United States. (427)
- The committee requested permission of the Soviet Embassy to conduct interviews of the Soviet citizens that were reported by Oswald to have had contact with him. (428) This permission was refused, as was the committee's request for additional Soviet documents concerning Oswald's surveillance. The committee had no other available means to determine possible connections between the described individuals and the KGB.
- The committee interviewed Webster concerning any contact he may have had with the KGB while in the Soviet Union. (429) Webster said the KGB had never contacted him, that there was no reason for them to do so, as the government officials that had aided him in his defection had his entire story. (430) He stated he had never been questioned relative to intelligence matters. (431)
- File reviews revealed that Mrs. Block thought they would have been of interest to the KGB while in the Soviet Union, but that they had no knowing contact with them. (432) She said that the Soviet representative who resettled them asked a lot of questions. (433) She recalled his inquiries about how an illegal U.S. passport, or one, with false identity, could be obtained. (434).
- The committee found that Ricciardelli had contact with a representative from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Red Cross. It was the Red Cross that relocated him to Kiev. He stated that visitors to his apartment believed it to be bugged. File reviews produced no, information concerning KGB contact with either Ricciardelli or Citry- 463 nell. Citrynell was known to have had contact with the Office of Visa and Registration and the Red Cross. The only defector requested not to make degoratory comments about the Soviet Union after leaving was Citrynel. He was asked for a signed statement concerning this by the Red Cross.
- Apparently, Dubinsky and Pertrulli never met with any Soviet authorities other than thier Intourist guides. They were refused citizenship or any type of Soviet residence visa and remain in the Soviet Union only for a short period. Dubinsky's treatment may characterize Soviet treatment of foreigners they consider mentally unbalanced.
- The committee found Dubinsky and Sloboda had contact with the KGB before and after their defection to the Soviet Union. Dutkanicz was recruited in a bar in West Germany by the KGB. Upon his defection, his family was resettled in L'vov with KGB assistance. The KGB watched over Dutkanicz closely and kept in daily telephone contact with him.
- Sloboda, a reported KGB agent before defection, was subjected to frequent questioning by the KGB. His wife, however, reported the only Russian Intelligence Service officer she knew was the resettlement officer.
- In reviewing the circumstance concerning KGB contact with these 12 defectors, it could be concluded that only those having had contact with the KGB prior to their defection, had contact with Soviet intelligence afterward. This conclusion, however, would be in direct conflict with the testimony before the committee of experts in Soviet intelligence and officers who defected from the KGB.
- The committee received testimony that: (1) Americans entering the Soviet Union were of intelligence interest to the KGB; (2) Americans offering to defect to the Soviet Union were rare and paid particular attention to by the KGB; (3) in any case similar to that of Lee Harvey Oswald, the defector would have been debriefed for intelligence information.(435)
- In the cases of these defectors, representatives from the Soviet Red Cross, Intourist, the Office of Visa and Registration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the KGB fulfill overlapping roles. In addition, KGB officers use the employees of the various other agencies as agents to gather information. It is probable that KGB officers misrepresent their employment while debriefing unknowledgeable defectors. It is also possible that the defectors misrepresented any contact they may have with foreign intelligence agencies, thus files might not accurately reflect experiences in the Soviet Union. Consequently, contact between the KGB and Lee Harvey Oswald cannot be ruled out. In most cases, the files reviewed in. the FBI and CIA did not in fact contain indications of debriefing of, the defectors by either agency in the United States. Thus, most in individuals were never asked if the KGB had made contact with them during their stay in the Soviet Union.
ADDENDUM: AMERICA DEBRIEFING PRACTICES
- The committee conducted a review of defectors files in order to determine whether defectors other than Oswald were routinely debriefed upon their return to the United States. The committee requested that the CIA provide a list of persons traveling to the Soviet Union during the period from 1958 to 1963, including both visitors and those persons considered by the agency to be defectors. (436) In response, the CIA provided a computer listing of 380 individuals entitled "U.S. Persons Who Have or May Have Defected to the U.S.S.R. Between 1958-1963."(437) The Agency stated that this listing represented U.S. persons including some non-U.S. citizens who owed some measure of allegiance the United States, who either had defected or had shown some intention of defecting to the U.S.S.R. within the requested time period. (438)
- As this list was compiled from a more detaled computer program on American defectors, a more detailed description concerning these individuals was requested and provided in an expanded version of the original list. This machine listing included the following information where relevant or available for each individual: name, date, and place of birth, 201 file number, arrival in Soviet Union, departure from Soviet Union, employment in Soviet Union, most current address, and other miscellaneous information compiled from the individual's 201 file and citations for/or other agency documents regarding this individual.
- The committee compiled a list of persons who appeared from the information available in the Agency's expanded list, to be U.S. citizens born in the United States, who defected or attempted to defect to the Soviet Union between the years of 1958 and 1963 and who returned to the United States within the same period of time. In addition, the committee included individuals from an October State Department request for information from the CIA regarding these persons whom they considered to be defectors to the Soviet Union or Soviet bloc countries. (439)
- The committee requested files or '29 individuals who fit the above-described criteria and the CIA provided files on 28 individuals on whom they maintained records. These 201 files were reviewed as well as any existing Domestic Contact Division files regarding these persons. The committee's files review revealed that, in the case of six of the individuals, there was no indication that they ever returned to the United States.(440)In some of these cases, the files contained a report from a source who observed or spoke with the subject and then reported the contact to the CIA, but there was no indication of direct contact with any of these persons on the part of the CIA.
- In regard to the other 9:29 defectors, the file review showed there is no record of CIA contact with 18 of them. Again, four of these files contain reports by sources who advised the Agency of their contact. Included in this group are Joseph Dutkanicz and Morris and Mollie Block. (441) One file regarding a former military person, Bruce Frederick Davis, contained a report of a debriefing.
- The circumstances of the CIA's contact with the four remaining defectors differed in each case. The file of Irving Amron reflected that he had actually been living in the U.S.S.R. since 1933 and returned to the United States in 1962. He was debriefed in 1964 by a CIA officer after applying for employment in response to a newspaper advertisement. (443) Another returning defector, Harold Citrynell, 465 was unwittingly interviewed by a CIA officer abroad upon the official's departure from the Soviet Union enroute to the United States. (444) While Citrynell's file indicated that the Agency considered it desirable that a full and controlled debriefing by the CIA and FBI be conducted and CIA wrote to the FBI suggesting a joint debriefing, there is no evidence in Citrynell's 201 file nor in any DCD documents that suggested further contact on the part of the CIA. (445)
- More extensive debriefings were conducted of the other two defectors. Robert E. Webster, a plastics expert with the Rand Development Corp., whose defection to the Soviet Union in 1959 was highly publicized, returned to the United States in June of 1962 (446) Weber had been employed by the Soviet Union at the Leningrad Scientific Institute of Polytechnic Plastics.(447) Shortly after his return to the United States, Webster was debriefed in home, territory by CIA's representatives in conjunction with representatives from the Air Force. (448) It was decided that a more extensive debriefing was order and Webster was sub-equently brought to the Washington, D.C. area where he was debriefed for a period of 2 weeks. (449) The debriefing reports included a chronology of Webster's life and the CIA's assessment of him as well as a large body of information regarding life in the Soviet Union, Webster's work there, and biographic information on persons he had met during his residence there.(450)
- Likewise, Libero Ricciardelli who had lived in the Soviet Union for nearly 4 years was contacted for purposes of debriefing soon after his return to the United States in late June of 1963.(451) His initial debriefing included such subjects as the motivation to defect to the U.S.S.R. as well as activities engaged in during his Moscow stay, relocation from Moscow to Kiev, and general aspects of life such as residence controls and costs. (452) While the CIA believed it was infeasible to debrief Ricciardelli more thoroughly due to his current status of attempting to regain U.S. citizenship, the Agency expressed an interest in eliciting more information on such topics as cost of living medical care, consumer goods, highways, transportation, and restrictions upon travel within Kiev. (453)
- It becomes clear from the review of files on these defectors that debriefing of defectors by the CIA was, in fact, somewhat of random occurrence. Nonetheless, the instances in which the Agency did choose to debrief returning American defectors, the Agency appeared to be interested in topics of general interest regarding life in certain areas of the Soviet Union. In this regard, the persons who were debriefed were similar to Oswald in that they defected and returned within the same general time period and each spent his time in the Soviet Union in areas of interest to the CIA.
- It appears from an examination of all available materials that Lee Harvey Oswald was not interviewed by the CIA following his return to the United States from the Soviet Union. Although, persons branch of the Soviet Russian division expressed an interest in interviewing Oswald they never followed up on this interest. There was also no indication that the Office of Operations interviewed Oswald.
- While the CIA did conduct interviews of some tourists who visited the Soviet Union during the period 1959-63 as well as some American citizens who defected to the Soviet Union and then returned to the United States; there was no standard policy to interview all persons in either category. Thus, the fact that Oswald was not interviewed was more the rule than the exception according to procedures followed by the CIA at that point in time.
Submitted by:
JOHANNA SMITH,
Researcher.
REFERENCES