in which the time period is known or can be inferred, the Soviet wives had to wait from 5 months to a year to obtain exit visas.290

In his correspondence with the American Embassy and his brother while he was in Russia,291 in his diary,292 and in his conversations with people in the United States after he returned,293 Oswald claimed that his wife had been subjected to pressure by the Soviet Government in an effort to induce her not to emigrate to the United States. In the Embassy correspondence, Oswald claimed that the pressure had been so intense that she had to be hospitalized for 5 days for "nervous exhaustion." 294 Marina Oswald testified that her husband exaggerated and that no such hospitalization or "nervous exhaustion" ever occurred.295 However, she did testify that she was questioned on the matter occasionally and given the impression that her government was not pleased with her decision. 296 Her aunt and uncle in Minsk did not speak to her "for a long time"; she also stated that she was dropped from membership in the Communist Youth Organization (Komsomol) when the news of her visit to the American Embassy in Moscow reached that organization. 297 A student who took Russian lessons from her in Texas testified that she once referred to the days when the pressure was applied as "a very horrible time." 298 Despite all this Marina Oswald testified that she was surprised that their visas were granted as soon as they were--and that hers was granted at all.299 This evidence thus indicates that the Soviet authorities, rather than facilitating the departure of the Oswalds, first tried to dissuade Marina Oswald from going to the United States and then, when she failed to respond to the pressure, permitted her to leave without undue delay. There are indications that the Soviet treatment of another recent defector who left the Soviet Union to return to the United States resembled that accorded to the Oswalds. 300

On the basis of all the foregoing evidence, the Commission concluded that there was no reason to believe that the Oswalds received unusually favorable treatment in being permitted to leave the Soviet Union.

Associations in the Dallas-Fort Worth Community

The Russian-speaking community.--Shortly after his return from Russia in June 1962, Oswald and his family settled in Fort Worth, Tex., where they met a group Of Russian-born or Russian-speaking persons in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.301 The members of this community were attracted to each other by common background, language, and culture. Many of them were well-educated, accomplished, and industrious people, several being connected with the oil exploration, production, and processing industry that flourishes in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.302 As described more fully in chapter VII and in appendix XIII, many of these persons assisted the Oswalds in various ways. Some provided the Oswalds with gifts of such things as food, clothing, and baby furniture.303 Some arranged appointments and transportation for medical and dental treatment, and assumed the cost in some instances.304 When Oswald under-