the University of Michigan band on a tour of Russia in the spring of 1961. 202 Oswald corresponded with the American Embassy in Moscow from Minsk,203 and wrote letters from Minsk to his family in the United States.204 Oswald and his wife have many photographs taken of themselves which show Minsk backgrounds and persons who are identifiable as residents of Minsk.205 After he returned to the United States,` Oswald conversed about the city with Russian-born American citizens who were familiar with it.206 Marina Oswald is also familiar with the city. 207 The Commission has also been able independently to verify the existence in Minsk of many of the acquaintances of Oswald and his wife whom they said they knew there. 208 (See Commission Exhibits Nos. 1392, 1395, 2606, 2609, 2612 and 2623, pp. 270--271.)

Once he was accepted as a resident alien in the Soviet Union, Oswald was given considerable benefits which ordinary Soviet citizens in his position in society did not have. The "Historic Diary" recites that after Oswald was informed that he could remain in the Soviet Union and was being sent to Minsk he was given 5,000 rubles* ($500) by the "Red Cross, * * * for expenses." He used 2,200 rubles to pay his hotel bill, and another 150 rubles to purchase a train ticket. With the balance of slightly over 2,500 rubles, Oswald felt, according to the diary, like a rich man.209 Oswald did not receive free living quarters, as the diary indicates the "Mayor" of Minsk promised him,210 but about 6 weeks after his arrival he did receive an apartment, very pleasant by Soviet standards, for which he was required to pay only 60 rubles ($6.00) a month. Oswald considered the apartment "almost rent free." Oswald was given a job in the "Byelorussian Radio and Television Factory," where his pay on a per piece basis ranged from 700 to 900 rubles ($70-$90) a month.212 According to his wife, this rate of pay was average for people in his occupation but good by Soviet standards generally.213 She explained that piecework rates throughout the Soviet Union have generally grown out of line with compensation for other jobs.214 The CIA has confirmed that this condition exists in many areas and occupations in the Soviet Union. 215 In addition to his salary, Oswald regularly received 700 rubles ($70) per month from the Soviet "Red Cross." 216 The well-paying job, the monthly subsidy, and the "almost rent-free" apartment combined to give Oswald more money than he needed. The only complaint recorded in the "Historic Diary" is that there was "no place to spend the money." 217

The Commission has found no basis for associating Oswald's preferred income with Soviet undercover activity. Marina Oswald testified that foreign nationals are commonly given special treatment in the Soviet Union, 218 and the Central Intelligence Agency has confirmed that it is standard practice in the Soviet Union for Americans and other foreign defectors from countries with high standards of living to be "subsidized." 219 Apparently it is Soviet practice