The True Story of One of the First RW/AM Romances.

[Ronnie]

This is the Story of Marina Prusakova and her first years in America with her AM husband.

Marina Nikolayevna Prusakova came into this world at the wrong time and the wrong place.  She was born near Leningrad in July 1941, one month after the beginning of the German invasion of Russia and two months before the great siege of Leningrad.  Her father was a colonel in the Red Army. 

Her mother’s death in 1957 left her as a teenaged orphan.  Because of her hardship status,  Marina applied for and was granted early admission to Leningrad’s Pharmacy Telnikum, working part-time at the Central Pharmacy to support herself.  Upon graduation at the age of 18, she received permission to relocate to Minsk to live with her childless uncle Ilya Prusakov and his wife Valya. 

Soon she was given a job in the pharmacy section of the Third Clinical Hospital and began making new friends, eventually hanging out with a group of friends but with no particular boyfriend. 

On March 17, 1961, about seven months after arriving in Minsk, Marina was attending a dance at the Palace of Culture for Professional Workers when she was introduced to twenty-one year old fellow named Alek.  Marina accepted Alek’s invitation to dance and they were soon smitten with each other.  Alek asked for Marina’s phone number but she declined suggesting instead that they might see each other at next week’s dance.

Alek spoke with an accent and Marina at first thought he might be from one of the Baltic republics.  Later in the evening she learned that Alek was an American who had been living in Minsk for about a year and worked at the local Gorizont Radio factory.

At the dance the following week, Alek and Marina were together the entire evening, dancing with each other exclusively.  Marina was falling madly in love with this Alek fellow.  She agreed to give Alek her phone number and invited him to meet Ilya and Valya at their apartment.  The next week, Alek became ill and was checked into the the ENT section of the Clinical Hospital.  Marina used her badge and uniform to visit Alek outside visiting hours.  Marina made a decorative egg and presented to Alek on Easter while he was still hospitalized.  While in the hospital, Alek proposed to Marina. 

But Marina was not Alek’s first love.  A few months earlier Alek had knelt on one knee and proposed to a lovely co-worker, Ella German.  Ella  had rejected Alek’s proposal of marriage saying she didn’t love him and was afraid that someday the government would round up all foreigners and deport them as had been done in the 1920s to all those of Polish decent.

Marina, however was crazy about her American boyfriend and accepted Alek’s proposal.  Marina Prusakova and Alek Hiddell were married in Minsk on April 30, 1961 just 19 days after his release from the hospital and six weeks after their initial meeting.

Alek had come to the Soviet Union with an idealistic view of the socialist state.  However, he became disillusioned with the blandness of soviet life and upset at the stark contrast between the lives of regular citizens and those of the Communist party members. He complained about the lack of freedom in Russia; the lack of opportunity to travel; inadequate housing and the chronic scarcity of food products.  He felt the party members were all opportunists who were interested only in their own welfare.

Alek was getting tired of all the meetings he and others were required to attend.  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.   

Alek observed that no one liked the meetings but they 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.

Within a month after the wedding, Alek told Marina he wanted to return to the United States.  Marina was shocked but agreed she would follow her husband wherever he should choose to go. 

Returning to the United States was not going to be a simple matter for Alek.  Upon his arrival in Moscow some three years earlier, a teen-aged Alek had stood at the desk of an embassy official, loudly proclaimed his disgust for America and slamming his passport on the desk, turned and walked out.   Now Alek would need to ask for his passport and wasn’t sure if he’d broken any law that he might be prosecuted for if he returned to America.  When his letters to the embassy went unanswered, he went to Moscow and was interviewed by a embassy official who assured him he had broken no American law and that he could indeed have his passport back. 

Alek then explained that he was now married to Marina and she would be going to America with him.   But Alek did not have enough money to pay for their transportation.  The Embassy eventually agreed to give him $500 as a repatriation loan.

But there were problems back in Minsk. When the news of Marina’s visit to the American Embassy reached Minsk, she was dropped from membership in Komsomol (the Communist Youth Organization), meetings were arranged at which members of the various organizations attempted to dissuade her from leaving the Soviet Union. Her aunt and uncle did not speak to her for a long time.   It was a terrible time for Marina, some days she felt she would give in to the pressure and just let Alek go without her.

After three terrible and stressful months, Marina took her annual October vacation and spent it with an aunt in Kharkov, Ukraine.  During this time, Alek and Marina missed each other badly and their love for each other solidified.   Also, Marina had become pregnant during the first month of marriage.

Upon her return from Kharkov, Marina asked for and was granted an interview with a government official concerning her pending application for a exit visa.  Seeing that Marina was pregnant the officer suggested she should wait until after the baby’s birth so the child could be born a soviet citizen. 

A month later, on December 25, Marina received word that her exit visa would be granted. Now, all that remained for Alek to bring his wife and child to America was the INS decision on his visa application. 

In February, 1962, Marina gave birth to a baby girl. 

In May, the embassy notified Alek that the INS had approved their visa applications and that they should come to Moscow to sign papers and receive his repatriation loan.

Alek, Marina and little Marinka left Moscow by train and two days later arrived in Rotterdam, Holland where they boarded the MS Maasdam, a luxury liner of the Holland American Line.  During the crossing to New York, Alek and Marina spent most of their time in their cabin.  Alek felt that their soviet-made clothing made the couple look poor and they felt out of place and uncomfortable.

Upon their arrival in New York, the couple visited Broadway.  Marina was very impressed with all the bright lights.  The next day they flew to Texas where the family was met by Alek’s brother Robert and his wife who lived in Ft. Worth.

It was now June of 1962 and Marina began writing letters back to her aunt and uncle in Minsk.  Her letters were saved by Ilya and Valya and translations of those letters will appear in the next posting.

[Ronnie]

LETTER 1:  JUNE 20, 1962.

Hello my dears, aunt Valya and uncle Ilya:

It has been now nearly a week since we have arrived at Robert's in Fort Worth.  You know how long it took to get here; if you count our departure from Minsk, the trip took twenty-two days.  Of course, we are very tired.  From Moscow to Holland we traveled through Germany and Poland.  Rotterdam where we were a day and a half I liked very much except that the weather was cold for summer.  Alik and I walked around in our coats. 

From Rotterdam to New York we went by ship.  This was a ship for tourists and had all comforts.  You could hardly feel the waves and there was little rocking.  Only on the first day there was a storm and Alka took it worse than me.  He felt sick and did not eat anything.  But as you know my appetite is always good.  The rocking did not affect me at all.  Marinka felt fine but on the way she broke out in a rash.  But she took it calmly.  On board was a doctor and he put some penicillin on her.  Now the crust has fallen away.

We were in New York for a day.  In the evening Alek and I and Marina went to see Broadway.  Broadway is very beautiful and not the way it was shown to us in the movies.  There are many lights, stores, and Negroes.  I have not gotten used to it yet.

The next day we got to Fort Worth in three hours by plane.  We were met by Robert and Veda with their children.  We were so tired after the journey that we looked very unattractive.  Robert in life is very appealing -- more so than Alek and more than in his photographs.  Veda looks better in her photographs.  It was very uncomfortable that

I do not speak English but now I am beginning to understand the sense of things.  I know now maybe thirty or thirty-five words.  They say I am calm and will soon learn the language.  They treat me very well.  They are very simple people.  Veda grew up on a farm and has a sister Gloria -- a teacher.  She has already come by twice.  She is teaching me English and I am teaching her Russian.

In general everything is better than I had imagined.  They are very surprised that I am thin and say I do not look like a Russian.  They now have a different impression of Russians.  Gloria and the aunt have a great interest and sympathy for Russians.  They subscribe to Russian magazines and newspapers. 

The aunt I did not like very much but may that is because she does not live here and it is hard to form an impression when you see a person for a few hours only.  Ostensibly she is kind to me and makes me eat.  She has already brought me all sorts of tins with fruit juices so that I drink them more as I am still breast-feeding Marinka.  They like her very much and are surprised that I do not bottle-feed her. 

They say Marinka is very fat.  That is true and good.  She has indeed gained a lot of weight and I do not know why.  There is a great variety of food here but everybody eats like a bird.  But I do not go around hungry -- I open the fridge and eat what I want.  They say that I should not be shy.

We will probably be living here half a year until Alek can rent a house.  He still has not started work.  Robert says we should just rest for now.  In the evening we watch television, take car trips.  We have already gone to the lake.  It is very hot here.  I walk around in shorts and a white shirt that Gloria bought for me.  She also bought me a nice robe.  Robert has a very nice house, land, and a garden but the fruit has not begun to grow yet.

Alek has been promised work this month.  I think we will be okay, do not worry about us.  How is everyone?  Write.

Kisses,

Marina, Alek, and Marina

 
 

[Ronnie]

LETTER 2:  DECEMBER 26, 1962.

Hello my dearest uncle Ilya and aunt Valya:

How glad I was to at last receive the long-awaited letter from you.  I hoped so much and how the letter arrived.  Dearest aunt Valya, I sat reading your letter and cried like a fool.  You must know that I love you very, very, much.  I cried with joy reading the letter because such distance separates us.  Alek was also very happy and read the letter himself.  He always asked when he came home from work, "Is there a letter from aunt Valya?"  He told me to reply immediately and send you the only color photograph of me that we have.

 Dear aunt Valya, about your soup...  it was very good and I made it last night.  We invited some Americans over, our friends, and they even ate two bowls.  They said that I and aunt Valya are very good.

In Dallas there are a few Russians -- good and bad -- different ones in general.  We meet with one family, they are Russians but have never been to Russia and were born in China.  They are very charming and good and travel a lot on foot.  He himself is a geologist, loves Negroes and Russia.  Soon he will be leaving to go to work in Haiti.  His name is George de Mohrenschildt.  Just a count's name remains, but otherwise he is a typical Russian guy by nature.

Now a little bit about myself.  You probably know from my previous letters to work, but I'll write again.  Alek is working in a printing house, in the photographic department.  He prints photographs for magazines and newspapers.  He likes to fool around with chemistry.  He makes $230 and maybe more later.  IT was hard for him to find work as he was in the USSR.  At first we lived in Fort Worth and there he worked in a metal shop.  But here our Russian acquaintances helped him find this job.  It is an interesting job -- it is clean -- he is tired of getting dirty.

The weather remains warm as autumn.  Occasionally there is a cold wind but no snow.  Yesterday it was Christmas and it is very pretty in the city.  Houses are decorated with little lights.  It is very impressive, especially at night.  Alka bought a Christmas tree but Marinka does not understand it yet.  She just likes to stare at the bright decorations.  But mostly she likes wooden spools and spoons to play with.  She now has two teeth.  She stands up in her bed hanging on the barrier.  Soon she will be a year old.  So fast, I cannot believe it, that I have a daughter.  She has few light colored hairs.  She is calm.  Papa loves her very much.  One day we had to take her to the hospital with a light flu.  While the doctor was looking her over she was crying and Alka was crying with her, while I was laughing in my soul.  Alka said he was ready to kill the doctor because he was an idiot.  He treats me well.  Occasionally we fight, but you cannot be without that.  But I know he loves me with his insane love.  He is jealous of everything although I give him no cause as I love him too.  He is a good boy -- a little crazy but I am not much better myself.

We are so far repaying our debt to the government for our move to America.  By the New Year we should be paid up -- it came to about $500.  That is like 500 rubles in our currency.  Right now we are renting an apartment -- two rooms, a kitchen, bathroom, etc.  It is a big apartment but not a new one, but we can afford it.  It is $68 plus the electricity.  For food we spend $10-12 a week.  If it was not for the debt we could live decently.  Dear aunt Valya, I now have very much respect for you and uncle Ilya.  I miss you.  I have many clothes and dresses but no place to wear them to.  Everything just hangs in the closet.  I miss you very much.  I think about the time we will meet again.  Either we will visit you or you will visit us.  Anything can happen in life.  Alka often thinks about you and Minsk and says, either in jest or perhaps seriously, "Let's go back."  I do not know how to understand that.

Dear aunt Valya, I am sending you my address.  We have a postal box:  number 2915.  If we change our address we will still be able to get mail.  You wrote my address with a mistake but it got to us.  You wrote it as "Elizabeth" but I think letters will reach me just the same.

I am slowly learning English.  Maybe we will move closer to the University and then I will be able to go study English.  There is an English for foreigners class there, but I already am beginning to understand much. 

Alka speaks Russian but not very good now.  In the evening he sings Russian songs:  "Meadowlands" his favorite.  Eric and Pavel write us, we received a letter from Ludka from Leningrad and from another girl with whom I studied.  From Tanushka too.  I am very happy for them. 

Dear aunt Valya, I would like to send you something but when I sent Tanya something and they had to pay much duty on it.  Although it might cost relatively little here, over there customs could value it very expensively.  What is the sense of sending presents?  But I will think of something.

Aunt Valya, please do not be angry.  Soon I will go to work and I will think of you.  It is very hard on us.  I am tired of sitting around at home.  We are not getting any letters from Innesa and the magazines I sent her are not getting to her.  I do not know why.

We are very happy that everything is very fine with Uncle Ilyusha and that he had a rest and freshened up.  I wish you all the best.  Please congratulate Irachka Kutsievna and Vova with their daughter, and say hello to Lialya.  Did she get married?  Please tell her not to be angry and to write.  A big regards to the Andrianovs from me and Alka.  A big kiss and a hug--how are Lyuda and Maria Josephina?  Tell them not to be angry.  I respect them very much.  On this I end.  I kiss you tightly, tightly my dears.

Marina, Alek, and Marinka

PS:  Everyone treats me very good, there are good people here... like everywhere.
 

[Ronnie]

LETTER 3:   APRIL 27, 1963, TEXAS.

Hello dear aunt Valya and uncle Ilya:

It was a while ago that I got your letter and I was glad to receive it.  But I got held up replying because of all sorts of domestic concerns.  Forgive me.

Right now I am living with our little daughter at our acquaintances in Irving, near Dallas.  Alek has gone away to New Orleans.  This is because he has no work, and there seem to be no prospects here.  So we have decided to move over closer to the sea.  Maybe he will be luckier in his birth place.  We have money for about two months so all this is not terrible so far.  In that time something should be found.  Alka took all the things with him so it will be easier for me and Marinka to leave here on the bus.  It is ten hours away.  Probably we, that is, I and Marinka, Ruth, and the children will go by car.  Ruth is great.  She is an American woman.  She is studying Russian at the university and is very glad I am living with her and able to help her learn Russian better.  She divorced her husband and lives with her children but she is lonely alone at home.

The husband comes twice a week to see the children.  They in fact just do not live together, but officially they are not divorced.  He finances the house where she lives and pays the bills.  He is also happy that Ruth is not as lonely with me.  We are thinking to go to New Orleans in a while.  She was never there and would like to take a vacation.
Alka left just two days ago.  There is no letter yet, but he will write right away how it is there.  We may leave soon so write to us at our Dallas postal box -- the letter will be forwarded on.  I do not know what our postal box number will be in New Orleans.  Box 2915, Dallas, Texas, USA.

Everything is fine.  Our daughter is growing up healthy and she is a good girl.  We and Alka love her very much and Alka looks after her.  If she starts crying... you know, he is crazy.  He gives you and uncle Ilya his regards and told me to write you after he leaves and I have more time.

The weather is very good.  There are rains and it is not too hot.  I have been wearing little shorts and we all had time to get tanned.  But it will be a little lonely here when Ruth leaves with her children for three days for the holidays in San Antonio.  And Alka will not be here.  I will watch television.  Just the other day there was a broadcast from London of Princess Alexandra's wedding.  It was very festive and beautiful.  It was held in a big ancient cathedral and the ceremony was very traditional.  It was so interesting -- I got goose-bumps.

I am beginning to speak English a little and Ruth helps me too.  I understand a lot but still need to systematically study.  Which is what I do.

We at last got Ogonek and Soviet Belorussia so we know what is happening in Minsk and everything in the Union.  I have Russian books.  Alka buys them for me in New York.  That is, they send them from there:  Tolstoy, Chekhov, Pushkin.  When we have more dough we will see; I will buy some more.  I do not have complete collections.

Recently it was Easter and we went to a lake and Alka caught two big fish.  They were 450 grams.  On an ordinary hook.  There were many vacationers and fishermen too.  Everybody rushed with their rods to that spot but no more big fish were caught.  Alka laughed that their fishing rods were twenty-thirty dollars kind, not like ours that cost 15 cents.  We will be catching crabs and good fish in New Orleans.  It is a port there.  What will happen next I will write, but in the meantime I send you best wishes and to our acquaintances -- especially the Andrianovs.  Luda must be finishing -- I wonder where they will send her.  How are things?  No answers from work.  Innesa has been silent.  She must be busy.  I do not know who was born to Oleg.  On this I end. 

I kiss and embrace you,

Marina

A few days before Marina wrote the above letter, Alek left the home after dinner and didn't return home until very late.  During that time she went to bedroom and found an two-page note from her husband, written in Russian. With the note was a key.  The note read:

1.  This is the key to the mailbox which is located in the main
post office in the city on Ervay Street.  This is the same street
where the drugstore, in which you always waited is located.  You
will find the mailbox in the post office which is located 4
blocks from the drugstore on that street.  I paid for the box
last month so don't worry about it.

2.  Send the information as to what has happened to me to the
Embassy and include newspaper clippings (should there be anything
about me in the newspapers).  I believe that the Embassy will
come quickly to your assistance on learning everything. 

3.  I paid the house rent on the 2d so don't worry about it. 

4.  Recently I also paid for water and gas. 

5.  The money from work will possibly be coming.  The money will
be sent to our post office box.  Go to the bank and cash the
check. 

6.  You can either throw out or give my clothing, etc. away.  Do
not keep these.  However, I prefer that you hold on to my
personal papers (military, civil, etc.).

7.  Certain of my documents are in the small blue valise. 

8.  The address book can be found on my table in the study should
need same. 

9.  We have friends here.  The Red Cross also will help you [Red
Cross in English].

10.  I left you as much money as I could, $60 on the second of
the month.  You and the baby [apparently] can live for another 2
months using $10 per week. 

11.  If I am alive and taken prisoner, the city jail is located
at the end of the bridge through which we always passed on going
to the city (right in the beginning of the city after crossing
the bridge).

[Ronnie]

By this time, Marina was understood that her husband Alek was a disturbed young man.  He had purchased a rifle and a revolver pistol and asked her to take a picture of him holding them in the back yard behind their appartment.

When Alek returned home late in the eveing that night in April, the evening he left the note, he told Marina that he had just used the rifle to try to kill a man but his shot had missed.

Marina was in a state of denial and disbelief and pregnant again.  She thought that Alek's mental state was a result of the pressures of a family and he not having a good job.  She suggested Alek go to his native New Orleans believing that old friends and family might make the connections for him to find better employment. 

Alek did find a better job in New Orleans and Marina wrote the following letter to Minsk:

LETTER 4:  MAY 18, 1963.  New Orleans

Hello my dear uncle Ilya and aunt Valya!

I am hurrying to inform you that there is no reason to worry.  The whole family has moved to New Orleans.  Alka found the same kind of work he had in Dallas, ie, photography.  He like it very much and I am happy.  Now at least he knows what to look for specifically.  That is much better than when we arrived and he did not know where to turn -- what to look for.  This is not bad work -- at least a specialty. 

He does not photograph people -- this is technical photography -- more specifically, commercial -- for magazines and print and newspapers.  We see his work and he brags that he works in newspapers.  At last fortune has smiled upon him.  By the way, I can brag that I was first who suggested he go to New Orleans.  Here Alka has relatives and in the end that is better than nothing.

By the way, aunt Lillian and her husband are very nice and simple people.  They have five grown children and they love kids in general.  They treat us very well.

We live on the same street that Alka works on.  He travels to work by trolley bus for about fifteen to twenty minutes.  Not far away is the Mississippi, about twenty-five minutes walk and on the other side of the city a big lake with a beautiful beach.  We have already gone swimming there.  Marinka was most happy.  She cried when we took her out of the water.  She is beginning to walk a little.  She is amusing and interesting for us.

The city is old -- the original settlers were French.  Many streets are name in French.  In the French Quarter there are many foreign tourists.  For the first time I saw how a barely clad girl -- if you can call a transparent material that -- dancing in a bar.  We and Alka were walking around there one evening and you could see many unexpected things through an open door.  I know about things like that but I was quite surprised anyway.  Indecent!

It is good that there are many fish here which I like very much.  On Saturday we will go to catch crabs.  We already bought some eels and crabs.  Alka handles them himself -- he does not trust anybody.  It is a very pleasant occupation preparing them, cleaning, and especially eating them.  If only you were here -- you would cook them up!  Soon pictures from the beach will be ready.  I will send them out.  How are things with you?  Alka sends his regards.

Dear aunt Valya.  This is only for you.  Now I know for sure that Alka loves me and this is very pleasing.  I am not the only one to come to this realization, but also Ruth who was here for a few days.  She could speak with him in English and Russian.  That is very good practice.  So I am very happy.  It is good that we are living together.  All kinds of things happen.

I kiss you tightly,

Marina

The "Ruth" the Marina mentions has become Marina's closest friend and confidant.  She encourages the family to move back to Texas where she has a room for them to rent.  Ruth also used her contacts to get Alek a job working in downtown Dallas at the corner of Houston and Elm Street.  After an unexplained trip to Mexico City in September 1963, Alek begins the job Ruth got for him at the Texas School Book Depository.

On Friday, November 22nd, Alek was arrested for the fatal shooting of of Dallas Police officer JD Tippit.  Later that evening he was charged with the murder of John F. Kenneth, president of the United States.

On Sunday, November 24th, Marina's husband was shot to death while in police custody by a reputed mobster,  Jacob Rubenstein aka Jack Ruby.

A few years later, Marina remarried and remained in Texas, still unsure if her husband Alek, whose real name was Lee Harvey Oswald, was really guilty of the horrible crimes with which he was charged but never convicted.

[Ronnie]

Marina is interviewed on Television

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYkoyAxIPHo[/youtube]

[Ronnie]

Later in life....

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Bo45aXZaqE&feature=related[/youtube]

[Mir]

Очень интересно, I wonder if it was the wife who made him go crazy.
Speaking of Kennedy this is rather wired:

Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.
John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.

Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.

Both were particularly concerned with civil rights.
Both wives lost their children while living in the White House.

Both Presidents were shot on a Friday.
Both Presidents were shot in the head

Now it gets really weird.

Lincoln 's secretary was named Kennedy.
Kennedy's Secretary was named Lincoln .

Both were assassinated by Southerners.
Both were succeeded by Southerners named Johnson.

Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln , was born in 1808.
Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.



John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln , was born in 1839.
Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy, was born in 1939.



Both assassins were known by their three names.
Both names are composed of fifteen letters.

Now hang on to your seat.

Lincoln was shot at the theater named 'Ford.'
Kennedy was shot in a car called ' Lincoln ' made by 'Ford.'

Lincoln was shot in a theater and his assassin ran and hid in a warehouse.
Kennedy was shot from a warehouse and his assassin ran and hid in a theater.

Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.

And here's the kicker...

A week before Lincoln was shot, he was in Monroe , Maryland
A week before Kennedy was shot, he was with(?in) Marilyn Monroe.

[Simoni]

A week before Lincoln was shot, he was in Monroe , Maryland
A week before Kennedy was shot, he was with(?in) Marilyn Monroe.

Great closing line!!!!    LOL

[kievstar]

John Wilkes Booth was not a southerner - actually a relative of mine and was born in England (history books not accurate) and not Maryland.  Also, Cheri Booth who married former PM Tony Blair is another relative of mine.  Both are related to each other as well.  Founder of Salvation army relative to the above as well.  Not going to comment much more but history books know little about John Wilkes Booth and most is inaccurate.  But John is relative of many powerful people in England's current and past history.  Plus many actors / actresses can trace distant roots to him.  It is true he was a trained spy and very good actor and was given orders to kill the President.  So it was easy for him to walk into the theater and walk within feet of the President and shoot him in the head.  His only mistake was the jump which he had practiced several times before with no problem.  I will not comment on whether he died in the barn as they never found his bones.  Some people know he escaped back to England.

[Mir]

Some people know he escaped back to England.

Yes I have heard rumors that he shared a house with Hitler(who also escaped to England) in Berkshire

[SANDRO43]

Yes I have heard rumors that he shared a house with Hitler (who also escaped to England) in Berkshire

Quite wrong, that was in Minehead, Somerset:
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVxM5IBLeU4 [/youtube]

[OlgaH]

The Mystery of Marina Oswald
http://www.paginedidifesa.it/2003/friedman_031126.html

[Faux Pas]

The Mystery of Marina Oswald
http://www.paginedidifesa.it/2003/friedman_031126.html

Olga,

Interesting look where so many other theories abound. A Soviet connection would have been so much easier to feed to and swallowed up by the American public .

[Ronnie]

John Wilkes Booth was not a southerner

Nor was he born in 1839.

[Ronnie]

The Mystery of Marina Oswald
http://www.paginedidifesa.it/2003/friedman_031126.html

The article is not very objective IMHO.  I have read the full account of LHO's and Marina's time in Minsk, how they met, how they got visas, etc.  It seems to me Oswald may have been assisted by the CIA to return to the states (for later use as a potential fall guy when and if needed) but Marina faced a lot of resistance in her decision to marry Lee and move to the states.  Keep in mind that at the time of the marriage, Lee did not have plans to repatriate.  Why would Marina marry LHO?  I think the article overstates Marina's looks.  She was not among the more attractive girls. LHO was rejected by another woman a few months before meeting Marina. 

Further, RWs don't often reject a marriage proposal based on a man's looks.  Lee was quite intelligent, spoke Russian, was not a drunk and Marina could have done a lot worse.

The greater fallacy behind any idea that Marina was somehow involved or that the KGB was involved is that the cover-up afterwards, could not have been the product of a foreign entity.

While the article asserts that a combination of Mafia, CIA, FBI, and the LBJ Texas combine is  implausible, it is really the only theory that hits all the bullet points of the planning, execution and cover-up.  LBJ had tremendous motivation and was no stranger to ordering assassinations during his days in Texas using Mac Wallace to do the dirty work.   Barr McClellan, father of former Bush Press Secretary Scott McClellan, has written an expose entitled "Blood, Money and Power: How LBJ Killed JFK".  What makes this book compelling is that it was written by someone who was there..not an after-the-fact pundit.

There are 6 conclusions that I feel reasonably confortable with:

LBJ was the main instigator;
The fatal shot came from the front;
Lee Oswald was involved but was duped (a patsy);
Ruby did not act out of patriotic or emotional compulsion;
Marina was not involved in any way;
The Warren Commission was complicit in the coverup;

The rest will remain a mystery..perhaps the greatest mystery of all time.

[Snowwww1980]

The Mystery of Marina Oswald
http://www.paginedidifesa.it/2003/friedman_031126.html

Aren't these stories wonderful.  This "analysis" makes a lot, of the fact it was so "easy" for the niece of an MVD colonel to leave the Soviet Union, while ignoring that is was so easy for the niece of an MVD colonel to enter the USA.

To rely on this argument for Marina's involvement as some kind of agent, the writer needs to accept that, the Soviet authorities conspired with the US authorites to assassinate  the US president.  If the Soviets wanted them to move to the USA, the Americans must equally have wanted them to come.  Have you tried to get a visa for a Russian wife to come to the USA today, let alone during the Cold War?

Or we accept that these conflicting actions of the Soviets and Americans prove just the opposite; that she was innocent and neither country saw the relationship as a threat.

Indeed, maybe the Soviets reason for providing an easy path was that, she was no security threat at all, but she provided the motivation for a troublesome American to leave the country.  Is this not more plausible?  The bigger question is why the Americans would let a Russian with such connections enter.

The greatest conspirators in conspiracy theories, are the writers of conspiracy theories, who only conspire to confuse us.