*Mrs. OSWALD. I would give him some in return.
Senator RUSSELL. You would give him some in return.
As I recall your testimony, when he told you about the Nixon incident,
you testified that you held him in the bathroom by physical strength
for some 4 or 5 minutes, so you should have been able to hold your own
pretty well with him if you could do that?* **
Mrs. OSWALD. Probably not 5 minutes, but a long time for him.
*Sometimes one can gather all of his strength in a moment like that. I
am not a strong person, but sometimes under stress and strain perhaps I
am stronger than I ordinarily am.
Senator RUSSELL. Did you ever strike him with anything other than your
hand?*
*Mrs. OSWALD. Well, I think at one time I told him that if he would
beat me again, I will hurl a radio, a transistor radio, and when he did
strike me, I threw the radio at him.
Senator RUSSELL. You missed him?
*Mrs. OSWALD. No--it broke. I missed him.
Senator RUSSELL. Yes, she missed him.
*Mrs. OSWALD. I tried not to hit him.
Senator RUSSELL. Now, going back a moment or two to your uncle, whom
you lived with and to whom I understand you are quite devoted--did he
try to keep you from coming to the United States very vigorously?
*Mrs. OSWALD. My uncle was against my going to America, but he never
imposed his will or his opinion on me.
Senator RUSSELL. Did he or any other members of your family ever
tell you why you had such little difficulty in getting your passport
approved?*
*Mrs. OSWALD. During the pendency of receiving this exit visa, we never
discussed the question, my uncle and my aunt, but when we received it,
the exit visa and it was granted to us so quickly, they were very much
surprised.
Mr. GOPADZE. Now, Marina, I'm sorry. I would like to make a correction
to that point.
Mr. GREGORY. All right.
Mr. GOPADZE. That during the time they were expecting a visa to
depart the Soviet Union, the relatives didn't express too much about
it--because they didn't [think] they would depart, and when they did
receive it, they were very much surprised----
Mr. GREGORY. Correct.
Mr. GOPADZE. With the expediency of the visa. Therefore, they didn't
bother asking any questions or into their affairs concerning the
departure. The last time they visited their aunt and uncle, they say,
"Oh, of all places, you're going to the United States."
Senator RUSSELL. Lee never did make much more than $225 a month, in
that area, did he, and he was unemployed almost as much as he was
employed?*
*Mrs. OSWALD. Yes.
Senator RUSSELL. How did he manage to pay the State Department the
money he had borrowed from them and to pay his brother Robert under
those circumstances?*
Mrs. OSWALD. He paid those debts out of his earnings. The first few
weeks when we came to the United States, we lived with his mother, and
that gave us the opportunity to pay the debts.
Senator RUSSELL. Well, you only lived with Mrs. Oswald a matter of 3 or
4 weeks, didn't you?*
*Mrs. OSWALD. Yes; but he was earning money during that time.
Senator RUSSELL. I understand, but he was not earning more than $200 a
month, was he, and he paid four or five or six--what was it, Mr. Rankin?
Mr. RANKIN. It was over $400.
Senator RUSSELL. Over $450 or more to the State Department and some
amount to his brother Robert.
Mrs. OSWALD. Around $100.
*It was $100.
It was probably $100.
Senator RUSSELL. That's $550, and a person that's earning $200 a month
part of the time, and having to support a family, that's a rather
remarkable feat, isn't it, of financing?*
*Mrs. OSWALD. I think that at the time we were leaving Russia, some of
the rubles were exchanged for dollars, and maybe he kept part of that
money, of which I have no knowledge, when we arrived in the United
States. The only thing I know is that we lived very, very economically
and Lee was saying all the time that the debts have to be paid as
quickly as possible.
Senator RUSSELL. I was under the impression that there was a very
drastic limit on the number of rubles that could be exchanged, that it
was a hundred or 130 or something in that area?*
*Mrs. OSWALD. According to the law in the Soviet Union, they allow
about 90 rubles per person to be exchanged into foreign currency or
dollars--$180 in our case because Lee was including the baby, and
she----
Senator RUSSELL. For each of them--the exchange.
Mrs. OSWALD. Not for Lee.
Senator RUSSELL. No; he couldn't bring out any more than he took in
with him. Well, he wasn't a visitor, though--yes, he was a visitor
then. I know they checked my money when I went in there.**
**Mrs. OSWALD. I don't know the reason why they didn't allow Lee to
exchange $90, but I believe that there is a Soviet law that for Soviet
citizens they allow $90 for each person. Excuse me.
*I believe that a foreigner is also entitled to exchange rubles for
dollars, but in a very limited amount.
Senator RUSSELL. Mrs. Oswald, do you have any plans to return to the
Soviet Union, or do you intend to live in this country?*
*Mrs. OSWALD. Of course--to remain in the United States.
Senator RUSSELL. I have a few other questions, but I'm already taking
too much time.
Senator COOPER. I want to say something off the record.
(Conference between Senator Cooper and Senator Russell off the record.)
Representative BOGGS. I have just one question.
Senator COOPER. All right.
Senator RUSSELL. Go right ahead.
Representative BOGGS. Mrs. Oswald, have you been taking English lessons?
Mrs. OSWALD. Yes.