CIA HISTORICAL REVIEW PROGRAM | g = APR 1964 RELEASE (N FULL.” se 7777 MEMORANDUM FOR: Mr. J. Lee Rankin General Counsel President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy SUBJECT : Reply to Questions Contained in Your Memorandum dated 12 March 1964 Attached herewith is the information which you requested in your memorandum dated 12 March 1964 and entitled "Certain fuestions Posed by the State Department Files.** — ee jf ee CL). Z bx . é * helo (sicnad) Tisha gins Richard Helms Beputy Director for Plans Attachment: As stated above Distribution: Orig. & 2 - Addressee -t - DDP 1 - CI/RAG | 2 - SR/CI/Research C/SR/CI/Research: LHW;3cl 3 April 1964 NW 55538 Docld: 32212045 Page i
i 1. OSWALD's travel from Minsk to Moscew and return in July 196) would normally have required pricr authorization. Bearers of a Soviet “passport for foreigners” (vid na ehiteletve v SSSK diya inngstrantsa) are required to obtain travel authorization from the Visa and Registration Department (OVIR) (or Passport Registration Department (PRC) in smaller towne) if they desire ts Iéave the city {or oblast) where they are domiciled. This same requirement isa believed to apply to persons, such as OSWALD, aolding Soviet "gtateless passports’ (vid na zhitelstvo v v £S8R diya Htg bes prashdanstva). 2. The practicality of even “unsuthorised" travel was demonstrated by eventa related by Bruce RAVIS, a United States citizen who defected from his US Army unit in Germany om 19 Auguat 1940, and eubsequeantly was sent to Kiev ta study. After his réepatristien in 1963, DAVIS told US authorities that he had made a total of seven unauthorized trips from Kiev duving the 1961-1963 period. Gne of these trips was a fight to Moscow on | May 1961, only ¢wo monthe before COWALD's Gight. DAVIS was apprehended on two ef his seven trips, and was returned to Kiev each time, the second time under ascort. On both sccasions he wag merely reprimanded by the deputy chief of the ingtlmate at which he Was ctudying, Since Marina had o Soviet citizen's internal passport, there would have been no restrictions against her raking the trip to Mosceavw. 3. There are no legal i restrictions againet persons, including Soviet citigens, entering the American Embassy in Moscow; in fact, the Soviet government guarantees the principle of unhindered access to the Embassy. in practice, however, the Embascy perimeter is patrolled by urdformed militia [civil police] personnel, and the Embassy gate ie guarded constantly by two militiamen. These “militiamen' are actually personnel of the Committee for State Security (KGS). Anyone whois noi readily identifiable ac a foreigner and who has not had his visit announced in advance, is stopped and asked fer his name, documents, and buginese with the Embaasy. Any Seviet citizen who does not have legitimate business with the Embassy is taken away for interregation. Should semeonc force or bluff his way fato the Embassy, he would be picked up when he departed. / Such measures are | NW 55538 Docld:32212045 Page 2
Such measures are takea, according to Soviet explanation, to protect the Dmbasey from intruaion by “hodligane' and other undesirable elements. OSWALD might well have beea stopped by the militia at the gate, but since be carried 4 atateless pargsport and was probably identifinbie as an American by name, accent and possibly clothing, would probably not have been prevented from entering. Marina also would probably not have been hindered, since she wae the wife of a foreigner and kad legitimate business in the Embasay. 4 GSWALD said tat he aeked for Sovict citizenship om 16 Getober 1959. According to his diary, he received word s month later that he. eould stay in the USSR pending disposition of his request, but it was another month and @ half before he wae given hig stateless passport. 5. When compared to five other defector cases, this precedare seems unexceptional. Two defectsrse frern US Army intelligence unite in West Germany appear to have been given citizenship immediately, but both had prior KGB connections and fied as a veauit of Army security checks. Of the other three cases, one was accepted after not more than &ve weeks and given a stateless passport apparently at about the same time. The second was immediately given permission to stay for a while, and hia subsequent request fer citizenship was granted three monthe later. The thivd was allowed toe stay after he made his citizenship request, but almost two months padeed before he was told that he had been accepted. Although the Soviet Ministry of Yoreign Affairs soon alter told the US Embaaey that he was a Soviet citicen, he did not receive his document until five or six months after initial application. We know of only one case in which an Anicrican asked for Soviet citizenship but did ncot take up residence in the USSR. In that instance, the American changed bis mind and voluntarily returned to the United States less than three weeks after be had requceted Soviet citizonslip. . & Se far as we are ebie to determine, there is nb Soviet law which would prevent = Soviet citizen married to a foreign national from accempanying his or her spouse from the USSR. This situation ia also believed to have existed at the time of the CS WALDs' departure from the Saviet Union in 1962. In practice, however, permission for a Goviet wife / to accompany her NW 55538 Docld:32212045 Page 3
to accompany her foreign aationsl husband abroad is rarely given. in almost every case available for cur review, the foreign national was obliced to depart the USGR. alone and either return to escort hie wife out, or arrange for her exit while he was still abroad, In some cases, the wife was never granted pern.iesiva to leave. The majovity of cases reviewed involve foreign students, exchange teachers, and other relatively transient persons, and while a number of cases pave certain pointe in commen, they bear little simUarity to the GOVALD case; aone involved a defector who married prior to repatriating.. 7. The time lapse involved in Soviet processing of the OSWALDa’ departure documentation appears to be noymal, Marina began assembling the docunients neceesary for an exit vise in May 1961, and both CS WwALDs actually applied on 26 Auguat 1961, according to ‘Marina's statement and GOVALD's diary. Mariaa‘s exif visa was jasued at the time her new passport was issued, 11 January 1962, although she had been informed by Coviet authorities about | January 1962 that the vies would be fesued. Lee Ch‘WALD's exit visa was not issued wotil 22 May 1962, although he, too, apparently had been told in early January 1962 that the viea would be granted, The tire lapse between actual application and actice of approval was cvex four monthe. By way of comparison, some Soviet wives have been held in the USSR for years, while in two specific cases involving Swedish national hushands, the Soviet wives were processed out in less than four mentha. & issuance of a stateless pasaport (which may be calied 4 sojourn permit or stateless person identity document - vid na zhitcistve diya lite bes grazhdanstva) is not unusual. Such a document wae jesued to US Army deserter Bruce DAVIS, who defected through East Germany to the USER in August 1969 and was subsequently sent to Kiev ae a student before he repatriated in July 1963. According to United States Embaesy Airgram 4-319, dated 4 Sestember 1962, DAVIS was “officially documented by the Soviet authorities as a stateless person, which is normal for 4 non-Goviet citizen net in posscesion of a valid national caseport."' DAVIS, of course, did not have a passport when he deserted and GSWALD had left his at the US Embassy on 31 Getober 1959. /Available exemplars of f NW 55536 Docld: 32212045 Page 4
Available exemplars of stateless passports indicate that they are valia for one year from date offemve. An exeniplar from the year 2960 (the year of lesue of OS WALD's document) shows that it bad baen renewed for an additional one-year period beyond ite original expiration date {as OSWALD claimed for his own docuneat}. Available axempiars show that the bearer wae chliged to report to the local OVIE, (Vian and Registration Department} or the PRO (Puseport and Registration Department) office quarterly to register, we have ne infaymation to indicate whether OSWALD reported periodically for the dare purpose. 3. There is no indication in State Department correspondence available to this agency that the content of the State Department conmcrvunication {4-127} dated i February 194i waa tranemitted to the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs or te any ather component of the Soviet goverment, US Dimcbnasy Dispatch 545, dated 28 February 196: aval referencing State Department Airgram A-!27, forwarded the centents of USXALD's letter poxtinarked 5 February (961 and included the fallowing statement: “Oli 41's present address as given on the envelope and in his letter is: Glitsa Kaiinina, House 4, Aparticent 24, Minsk. The Department may vieh te transmit this addreas te Airs. Marguerite CSWALD. it would presumably fulfill the requirement is paragraph three of the Departwent's referenced Airgrarm.” (Faragrapk three requested the Zn hassy to inform the Ministry of Foreign Aflairs of Mrs. Marguerite COWALD’*s concers absut her son.) It would appear from the statement quoted above, and from the absence of any other referance t) action by the Ermbaesy regarding 4-127 that the canteats of the airgram hed ast yet Geen tranamitted to Soviet autharities. It ts our wider standing that State Departicent Airgranms are not entoged, but are forwarded in clear text by diplomatic pocch. ie underetand further that delivery time for sach pauenes varies from three to ten days, therefore Airgram 4<127 would unt have srvived at the Smbessy pefore ¢ Yebruary, and probabiy would not have arrived until several days later. Although the airgeats cosy not have arrived until after the & Fabruary postmark date on OCWALD's letter, the possibility that the Soviats engincered the writing of the letter cannot be cempictely excluded, for the postmark could have been fabricated at Soviet technical facilities in hinoscow aa late as the day before COV ALD letter wae delivered to the Embassy. Cn the hegis of availiable information, however, we have uo reason to believe that the conmmurication wae intercepted or that COWALD's latter was enginesred by the Soviets. | HW 55538 Docid: 32212045 Page 5
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