that if he had had as much money as some of the "managers," he could have visited the Black Sea resorts.607 He complained about the lack of freedom in Russia; sos the lack of opportunity to travel ;609 inadequate housing; 610 and the chronic scarcity of food products.611 To one acquaintance, he observed that the party members were all "opportunists," who "shouted the loudest and made the most noise," but who were interested only in their own welfare.612

He expressed similar views in a manuscript which he worked on in Russia 613 and probably intended to publish; soon after he returned to the United States, he hired a stenographer to prepare a typed draft from his notes.614 Oswald described the manuscript, which amounted to 50 typed pages, as "a look into the lives of work-a-day average Russians."615

The manuscript describes the factory in which Oswald worked and suggests that political considerations of which Oswald disapproved dominated its operation. He attributed the lack of unemployment to the shortage of labor-saving machinery and the heavy load of bureaucracy, which kept "tons of paper work" flowing in and out of the factory and required a high foreman-worker ratio.616 In addition, he wrote, there was "a small army of examiners, committees, and supply checkers and the quality-control board."

He described life in Russia, including life at the factory, as centered around the "Kollective." The head of the Kollective in his shop, Comrade Lebizen, saw to it that everyone maintained shop discipline, attended party meetings, and received all the new propaganda as it came out. He hung the walls of the shop with signs and slogans of the Communist Party. Meetings of the Kollective were "so numerous as to be staggering." In a single month, there were scheduled one meeting of the professional union, four political information meetings, two young Communist meetings, one meeting of the production committee to discuss ways of improving work, two Communist Party meetings, four meetings of the "School of Communist Labor," and one sports meeting. All but one of them were compulsory for Communist Party members and all but three were compulsory for everyone.618 (Marina Oswald testified that her husband did not attend the courses in Marxism and Leninism given in the factory for party members and those who wished to become party members.)619 They were scheduled so as not to interfere with work, and lasted anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 hours. Oswald said that no one liked the meetings, which were accepted "philosophically"; at the political meetings especially, everyone paid strict attention, and party members were posted in the audience to watch for the slightest sign that one's attention might relax, even for a moment.620

Oswald wrote that the "spontaneous" demonstrations on Soviet holidays or for distinguished visitors were almost as well organized as the Kollectivist meetings at the factory.621 He noted that elections were supervised to ensure that everyone voted, and that they voted for the candidates of the Communist Party. The manuscript touches on other aspects of Soviet life--as the housing shortage and the corrup-