Oswald's Tale: An American Mystery
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TATIANA PRUSAKOVA: Marina’s grandmother; Ilya’s mother
VALYA (VALENTINA) PRUSAKOVA: Marina’s aunt; Ilya’s wife
JOHN QUIGLEY: FBI agent who interviewed Oswald after his arrest in New Orleans
LINNIE MAE RANDLE: Ruth Paine’s neighbor in Irving, Texas
EARLENE ROBERTS: live-in housekeeper at the boardinghouse in Dallas where Oswald was dwelling at the time of the assassination
EVARISTO RODRIGUEZ: bartender in the Habana Bar in New Orleans
MIGUEL RODRIGUEZ: served with Oswald in Japan; attacked by Oswald in incident that resulted in Oswald’s second court-martial
JACK RUBY: Dallas nightclub owner who shot and killed Oswald
VOLKMAR SCHMIDT: German geologist introduced to Oswald by De Mohrenschildt
GEORGE SENATOR: Jack Ruby’s friend; shared an apartment with him
GORDON SHANKLIN: Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Dallas office
RIMMA SHIRAKOVA: Oswald’s Intourist guide in Moscow
ALEXANDER SIMCHENKO: head of Moscow OVIR (Passport and Visa Office) in 1959
RICHARD SNYDER: Consul at the American Embassy, Moscow, at the time of Oswald’s arrival
SONYA: worker at Minsk radio factory
FORREST SORRELS: Secret Service agent in Kennedy’s motorcade
STELLINA: head of Intourist, Hotel Minsk
EVELYN STRICKMAN: social worker who interviewed both Oswald and his mother during Lee’s stay at Youth House in New York in 1953
WILLIAM STUCKEY: radio journalist who broadcast one interview with Oswald after his arrest in New Orleans and arranged his radio debate.
ROBERT SURREY: member of General Walker’s household staff
INNA TACHINA: student at the Foreign Languages Institute with whom Oswald claimed he had an affair
TAMARA: one of Marina’s co-workers at Third Clinical Pharmacy, Minsk
TANYA*: Intourist guide at Hotel Minsk who dated Oswald for some months; KGB source
OLEG TARUSSIN: Marina’s most serious suitor in Leningrad
ALEXANDRA TAYLOR: George De Mohrenschildt’s daughter
GARY TAYLOR: George De Mohrenschildt’s son-in-law
J. D. TIPPIT: Dallas policeman shot and killed an hour after JFK
MRS. MAHLON TOBIAS: the Oswalds’ landlady on Elsbeth Street
KERRY THORNLEY: served with Oswald in USMC, California
ERICH (ERNST) TITOVETS: English-speaking student at Minsk Medical Institute, Oswald’s closest friend in Minsk
SANTO TRAFFICANTE: Mafia don of Tampa
ROY TRULY: Oswald’s supervisor at the Texas School Book Depository
EDWARD VOEBEL: Oswald’s high school friend in New Orleans
IGOR VOSHININ: Russian émigré who knew the Oswalds in Dallas
MRS. IGOR VOSHININ: Russian émigrée who knew the Oswalds in Dallas
GENERAL EDWIN A. WALKER: controversial Dallas right-wing extremist crusader on whom an assassination attempt was made
WILLIAM WHALEY: Dallas taxi driver who drove Oswald to his boardinghouse after the assassination
BONNIE RAY WILLIAMS: Oswald’s co-worker at Texas School Book Depository
WILLIAM WULF: high school acquaintance of Oswald’s in New Orleans
PAVEL YATSKOV: KGB officer attached to the Russian Embassy in Mexico City who saw Oswald during his final visit to the Embassy
ALEXANDER ZIGER: engineer at Minsk radio factory and Oswald’s friend
ANITA ZIGER: Alexander Ziger’s daughter
ELEANORA ZIGER: Alexander Ziger’s daughter
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Special acknowledgments are due:
—to Ludmila Peresvetova, who was our translator for more than nine tenths of these interviews and had so powerful and personal a point of view that her presence is also in this book.
—to Marina Oswald Porter, for subjecting herself to the pain of being interviewed for five consecutive days in Dallas and for her honesty, which was so notably severe upon herself that it kept her searching through many an old laceration to locate a shard of truth.
—to my good friend the private investigator William Majeski, for his percipient insights while we worked together in Dallas and New Orleans.
—to Mary McHughes Ferrell, for her boundless energy and for her generosity in making available her voluminous archives on the Kennedy assassination. In particular, the work of Mary Ferrell on Oswald’s finances was of considerable help. A collateral acknowledgment goes to Gary Shaw, Mary Ferrell’s friend and working partner.
—and to Jim Lesar of the Assassination Archive and Research Center, Washington, D.C., who kindly provided much research for this book with a full set of the twelve HSCA volumes concerned with the Kennedy assassination.
One is indebted to the following people for their willingness to be interviewed. Those with pseudonyms are in quotation marks: Rosa Agafonova, Lyuba Axyonova, Galina and Yuri Belyankin, Musya Berlova, Konstantin Bondarin, Valentin Borovtsov, the doctor from Botkin Hospital, Olga Dmovskaya, Leonid Bentzianovich Gelfant, Ella Germann, “Stepan Vasilyevich Gregorieff,” Romanova Alexandra Gregoryevna, Pavel Golavachev, Ludmila and Misha Kuzmich, “Igor Ivanovich Guzmin,” Nadazhda and Dementij Maknovets, Galina Makovskaya, “General Marov,” Yuri Merezhinsky, Lidia Semenovna Merezhinsky, Valentin Yurivich Mikhailov, Oleg Nechiporenko, Stellina Pajaluista, Sasha Piskalev, Inna Andreyevna Pasenko (for whom further appreciation is due for her help as a translator on special projects), Galina Semenovna Prokapchuk, Max Prokhorchik, Polina Prusakova, Valentina (Valya) Prusakova, Yanina Sabela, Tamara Sankovskaya, Larissa (Lyalya) Sevostyanova, Albina Shalyakina, Rimma Semenova Shirakova, Anatoly Shpanko, Stanislav Shushkevich, Alexander Simchenko, Sonya Skopa, Misha Smolsky, Natasha Gregorievna Titovets, Leonid Stepanovich Tzagiko, Raisa Maximova Vedeneeva, Inessa Yakhiel, Raisa Romanovna Zhinkevich, Mrs. Alexander Ziger.
Two interviews, much desired, were not obtained. Don Alejandro Ziger was living in Argentina in 1992, and before we attempted to make contact, he had died. His widow was interviewed by Alex Levine, but Mrs. Ziger was now at that benignly advanced age where the prevailing desire is to initiate no difficulties for anyone. So, her remarks about Oswald were general—“He was a nice young man.”
With Erich Titovets, the matter is more frustrating. Titovets was, by all accounts, Oswald’s closest friend and associate in Minsk, and he kept sliding out of interviews with us. At present a doctor engaged in advanced research, Titovets met with us seven times, but never gave an interview. As he explained, he was going to write his own book on Oswald. Nonetheless, a game ensued. Often, he would agree to a meeting, but would change the date, or, once, was summoned out of his hospital office in the first few minutes by what had every appearance of being a pre-arranged call.
We had already interviewed his ex-wife, and she described him as immensely secretive, cold, and compartmented. While few men would wish to be measured by the judgments of a former spouse, it was obvious from meeting Titovets, a well-knit, well-built man who gives off a contradictory aura, prissy yet macho at once, that he was living in as sly and unique a manner as a much-pampered cheetah. Our only consolation in not being able to interview him is that while he was obviously capable of talking to us for hours it was equally apparent that he would impart nothing he did not care to tell. The decision was made finally to approach him entirely from without and let him emerge as a character by way of his relation to others.
One would also like to thank the following people for their assistance: Genrikh Borovik, Lenord Komarov, Anatoly Mikhailov, Sergei Pankovsky, Stanislav Shushkevich, Dmitri Volkogonov; as well as those members of the KGB in Minsk and Moscow who were in a position to give their names: Edward Ivanovich Shirakovsky, Ivan Chebrovski, Valentin Demidov, Yuri Kobaladze, Alexei Kondaurov.
One would also mention the aid offered by our staff in Minsk: Sasha Batanov, Tammy Beth Jackson, Robert Libermann, Keith Livers, Marat, Sasha Palchinkov.
And in the United States, one would acknowledge the
help given by Lauren Agnelli, Henrietta Alves, Stephanie Chernikowski, Ingrid Finch, Tamara Gritsai, Boris Komorov, Alex Levine (in Buenos Aires), Maggie Mailer, Julianna Peresvetova, Farris Rookstool III, Marc Schiller, Anatoly Valushkin, and from Random House, Jason Epstein, Harry Evans, Andrew Carpenter, Oksana Kushnir, Beth Pearson, Veronica Windholz, and in Los Angeles, Howard Schiller for his cover design.
After paying one’s respects to the powerful insights and investigations of Edward Epstein, one would also offer a collegial salute to the following authors for the implicit assistance of their work: Jean Davison, Don DeLillo, Gaeton Fonzi, Oleg Nechiporenko, Carl Oglesby, Gerald Posner, Richard Russell, and Anthony Summers. While one can hardly offer an appreciation to Hitler, and there is only the shade of Ralph Waldo Emerson to thank, Robert Oswald, William Manchester, Frank Ragano, Selwyn Raab, and David Wise should be cited.
Finally, a special statement is necessary to cover the contribution of Priscilla Johnson McMillan. Her book Marina and Lee was of obvious and considerable use to me in the composition of the second half of this work. While I have serious disagreements on her interpretation of Lee’s life and character (as indeed I would, or why else write my own book?), there is no work on Lee and Marina’s married life in the United States as rich in detail as Mrs. McMillan’s full treatment. Indeed, she spent months interviewing Marina and more than twelve years writing her book.
As already stated, Lawrence Schiller and I had the opportunity to interview Marina in Texas for five days, and used the greater part of such time for obtaining her latter-day narrative of her experiences in Leningrad and Minsk. Some of our effort went, however, into obtaining a corroboration of those passages I was preparing to choose from Mrs. McMillan’s book. I think it fair to say that Marina, although no longer well disposed to her former friend, was usually ready to agree with the general truth of the examples chosen, although not inclined to accept as comfortable the tone of dialogue given to Lee and herself. Nonetheless, it is altogether to Mrs. McMillan’s credit that she was not only the first but perhaps the only author to perceive the value of understanding Lee Harvey Oswald through his marriage.
NOTES
GENERAL NOTES:
1. All of Marina Oswald’s recollections, unless otherwise attributed in the following notes, are from the author’s and Lawrence Schiller’s interviews with her that were done specifically for this book.
2. Lee Harvey Oswald was dyslexic, and this was apparent, to varying degrees, in virtually all of his writing. For the reader’s convenience and in fairness to Oswald’s ideas, his errors in spelling and punctuation have been corrected in all excerpts from his letters, Historic Diary, and other writings unless otherwise noted in the text.
3. Since the Warren Commission Hearings were published from direct transcript and were not edited closely, if at all, there are numerous small discrepancies—different spellings, for example, of the same Russian name. These occasional variations were dealt with on their merits, and where necessary, a note is appended.
ABBREVIATIONS USED IN CITATIONS:
WC TESTIMONY, VOL.: testimony given before the Warren Commission in the twenty-six volumes of Hearing and Exhibits accompanying the Warren Commission Report, referred to by volume and page number.
WC HEARINGS, VOL.: affidavits and other documents read into the Warren Commission record, referred to by volume and page number.
CE: Commission Exhibit (followed by exhibit, volume, and page number). Certain Exhibits were also assigned names by the Warren Commission, and this form has been followed where applicable, e.g., Paine Exhibit No. 1.
HSCA REPORT: House Select Committee Report on Assassinations (U.S. Government Printing Office edition).
HSCA, VOL.: The twelve Kennedy volumes of Hearings and Appendices of the House Select Committee on Assassinations, referred to by volume and page number.
VOLUME ONE: OSWALD IN MINSK WITH MARINA
PART II: OSWALD IN MOSCOW
Chapter 1: King’s English
1. The Historic Diary, so named by Oswald, was found in his papers after his death, and was printed in the Warren Commission Exhibits, CE 24, Vol. XVI, pp. 94–105.
Chapter 3: Rosa, Rimma, and Richard Snyder
1. WC Testimony, Vol. V, p. 264.
2. Ibid., pp. 266–267.
3. Ibid., pp. 279–290.
Chapter 4: What’s My News?
1. CE 943, Vol. XVIII, p. 157.
2. CE 942, Vol. XVIII, p. 156.
3. Priscilla Johnson McMillan, Marina and Lee, pp. 83–85.
4. In his Historic Diary, Oswald sometimes referred to old rubles, sometimes to new rubles. All figures provided here are in new rubles, which were each worth 10 old rubles. For example, the Red Cross gave him 5,000 rubles (old money), which was now worth 500 new rubles. His salary, commensurately, was worth 70 rubles a month in new money.
5. WC Testimony, Vol. V, p. 294.
PART III: OSWALD’S WORK, OSWALD’S SWEETHEART
Chapter 8: In Love with Ella
1. This diary extract is from what Oswald called “DIARY (extra page) not included in formal diary”; CE 2759, Vol. XXVI, p. 144.
Chapter 9: Ella and Lee
1. In his Historic Diary, Oswald spelled Inna Tachina’s name “Ennatachina.” The spelling has been corrected to avoid confusion.
Chapter 10: Zdradstvy
1. In his Historic Diary, Oswald spells Nellya Korbinka (referred to by Inna Pasenko on p. 126) as “Nell Korobka.” To avoid confusion, the name has been corrected to Nellya Korbinka.
2. In the Diary text, Oswald again refers to Inna Tachina as “Enna.” The name has been corrected to avoid confusion.
PART IV: MARINA’S FRIENDS, MARINA’S LOVES
Chapter 9: Anatoly
1. McMillan, op. cit, pp. 71–72.
PART V: COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE
Chapter 1: Alik
1. In the transcripts of their testimony before the Warren Commission, both Marina and Marguerite Oswald (Lee’s mother) are identified as “Mrs. Oswald.” Similarly, Robert Oswald (Lee’s brother) is always designated “Mr. Oswald.” The author has added the first names of these three individuals wherever their testimony is quoted.
2. WC Testimony, Vol. I, pp. 90–92.
3. CE 994, Vol. XVIII, pp. 597–602. Marina’s narrative was dated January 4, 1964; McMillan, op. cit., p. 583. In the Warren Commission translation of this document, the names Anatoly and Yuri were spelled Anatoli and Yuriy. The author has amended these to avoid confusion.
Chapter 2: A Little Bit of Conquering
1. CE 994, Vol. XVIII, p. 605.
2. CE 1401, Vol. XXII, p. 750.
3. CE 994, Vol. XVIII, p. 606.
Chapter 5: Early Married Days
1. CE 994, Vol. XVIII, pp. 606–607.
2. Ibid., p. 608.
PART VI: A COMMENCEMENT OF THE LONG VOYAGE HOME
Chapter 2: Correspondence
1. CE 932, Vol. XVIII, p. 133.
2. Ibid., pp. 133–134
3. CE 1084, Vol. XXII, p. 31.
4. WC Testimony, Vol. V, p. 278.
5. CE 251, Vol. XVI, p. 251.
6. CE 1085, Vol. XXII, p. 33.
Chapter 3: Bureaucratic Soundings
1. CE 969, Vol. XVIII, p. 366.
2. CE 970, Vol. XVIII, p. 367.
3. CE 252, Vol. XVI, pp. 704–707.
Chapter 4: A Return to Moscow
1. CE 960, Vol. XVIII, pp. 340; 343.
Chapter 6: Traveler’s Qualms
1. CE 977, Vol. XVIII, pp. 378–380.
2. CE 1122, Vol. XXII, p. 87.
3. CE 301, Vol. XVI, p. 833.
4. CE 1058, Vol. XXII, p. 9.
Chapter 9: The Queen of Spades
1. CE 305, Vol. XVI, p. 838.
2. CE 1122, Vol. XXII, p. 88.
3. CE 66–I, Vol. XVI, p. 226.
4. CE 53, Vol. XVI, p. 191.
5. CE 56, Vol. XVI, p. 196.
6. CE 55, Vol. XVI, p. 193.
; PART VII: FATHERHOOD AND MOTHERHOOD
Chapter 1: Cruel but Wise
1. CE 2744, Vol. XXVI, p. 120.
2. CE 309, Vol. XVI, p. 852.
3. CE 185, Vol. XVI, p. 544.
Chapter 2: A Bomb Scare
1. CE 985, Vol. XVIII, p. 433.
2. CE 311, Vol. XVI, pp. 857–858.
Chapter 4: On the Turn of the Year
1. CE 189, Vol. XVI, p. 554.
2. WC Testimony, Vol. I, pp. 193–194.
Chapter 5: Pen Pals
1. CE 1058, Vol. XXII, p. 9.
2. Ibid., p. 10.
3. CE 256, Vol. XVI, pp. 717–718.
4. CE 1101, Vol. XXII, p. 51.
5. CE 2743, Vol. XXVI, p. 117.
6. CE 190, Vol. XVI, p. 558.
7. CE 314, Vol XVI, p. 865.
8. CE 1081, Vol. XXII, p. 28.
9. CE 223, Vol. XVI, p. 613.
10. CE 192, Vol. XVI, p. 562.
11. CE 1082, Vol. XXII, p. 29.
12. CE 193, Vol. XVI, pp. 564–565.
Chapter 6: An Addition to the Family
1. McMillan, op. cit., p. 173.
2. CE 63, Vol. XVI, p. 212. In the Warren Commission Exhibits, variant spellings of the name Alik—such as Aleck and Alek—appear as transliterations from the Russian by different translators. The author has amended these to avoid confusion.
3. CE 37, Vol. XVI, p. 162.
4. CE 40, Vol. XVI, p. 169.
5. CE 60, Vol. XVI, p. 206.
6. CE 64, Vol. XVI, pp. 213–214.
7. CE 61, Vol. XVI, p. 207.
8. The KGB actually gave Oswald two nicknames: “Likhoi,” noted above, used most often, and, less frequently, “Nalim” (which means “sly, eel-like”). This report uses “Nalim” here; the author has taken the liberty of substituting the more familiar “Likhoi.”
Chapter 7: “There Are Microbes in Your Mouth”
1. CE 1086, Vol. XXII, p. 35.
2. CE 2687, Vol. XXVI, p. 47.
3. SOV is the State Department’s informal designation for its Office of Soviet Union Affairs.
4. James Exhibit No. 2, Vol. XX, pp. 236–237.
Chapter 8: Second Thoughts