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The first President of Belarus taught Oswald Russian in Minsk

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Lance Payette:
It occurred to me this morning that probably the best analogy for Oswald is the kid whom everyone agrees was pretty dull and harmless but who becomes radicalized within a fairly short period and commits some horrific act of Islamic terrorism that no one who knew him previously can quite believe. Yes, we can see the seeds of strangeness throughout Oswald's life, but it does seem that in 1963 he became increasingly radicalized in the direction of Cuba, either through self-radicalization or through association with others in New Orleans and/or Mexico City. A turn toward radicalism culminating in the JFKA strikes me as FAR more plausible than any scenario that has him as a KGB or CIA operative extending back to his defection or earlier. The general downward spiral of his life in 1963 would, of course, be an additional factor. Probably the psychological literature as to how young people can pretty quickly become radicalized would be a more fruitful place to look than the dark musings of people like Newman, Morley, et al.

Steve M. Galbraith:
From (below) Norman Mailer's book "Oswald's Tale." "Libezin" was the Communist Party Secretary at the factory where they worked.

From this account I can't see how Shuskevich could get much of a "read" on Oswald the person, on what made him tick. Enough to say, as he did, that it's impossible that "his student" shot JFK. As he admitted, he and Oswald had a sort of formal teacher-student relationship; they never discussed personal matters, they simply worked on learning Russian. Oswald the person had to be a mystery to him.

But it's also true that the people in Minsk that Mailer interviewed who knew Oswald said they simply couldn't believe he could assassinate the President. He simply didn't have that makeup or character. I think they are right. Oswald changed dramatically when he came back to the US. His life was falling apart, his mistreatment of Marina worsened, he couldn't find a decent job, he had to rely on charity or unemployment checks. He was failing miserably. Desperate men do desperate things.

Lance Payette:
Yes, Mailer's summary seems pretty consistent with what Shuskevich himself said. I assume Shushkevich was just projecting from the fact that Oswald seemed so dull, unimaginative and compliant. The other interviews with those who did know Oswald and Marina personally are more telling. It was kind of interesting that no one (i.e., KGB) ever questioned Shushkevich or the others about Oswald and that he took some good-natured ribbing about being arrested after the JFKA. I really think the truth is pretty much what Mailer and everyone else who looks into the tale concludes: Oswald was just a goofball who was puzzling and even somewhat humorous to the Soviets but of no great interest.

FWIW, the rumors around the radio factory during Oswald's employment there, as relayed to me by my sister-in-law, had him being way more in-your-face lazy and uninterested in the work than comes through in some of the sources. He also mocked much of the factory routine, which would scarcely make sense for a false defector. It might make sense for an increasingly disaffected goofball, but one would logically expect a false defector to at least try to fit in. I thought the one interview hit the nail on the head with Oswald enjoying his "American defector" celebrity status for about six months but becoming increasingly unhappy as that wore off and he was now just another factory grunt in one of the duller outposts of the USSR.

I've mentioned before the extreme security at the factory. My sister-in-law worked in the "military" part as a technical illustrator, never having any idea what she was illustrating. All workers were checked every day as they exited the factory, down to the level of examining the contents of purses. Oswald worked in the "experimental shop," where they basically made prototypes (of anything, mostly household items). Ernst Titovets describes an incident of Oswald bringing home a tube-like device that Titovets later learned was part of a military radar unit. Oswald discussed with Titovets how one might make a bomb from the tube and then never mentioned it again. This incident would have been IMPOSSIBLE unless Oswald had been allowed to steal the tube just to see what he would do with it. I have to assume the "bomb" discussion was in a joking vein because Oswald knew damn well his apartment was bugged by the KGB. The whole thing is bizarre - but again, not the behavior of any sane CIA-operative false defector. If the Soviets hadn't been puzzled and somewhat amused by this goof, stealing part of a radar device could have got Oswald sent to Siberia for several unpleasant years.

Tom Graves:

--- Quote from: Lance Payette on Yesterday at 12:48:01 AM ---When Norman Mailer visited Belarus and asked to see the KGB files, Shuskevich, as President, asked the chairman of the KGB if he needed to be careful. The answer: "Absolutely not. Show him everything."

--- End quote ---

This reminds me of how Gerald Posner befriended false defector-in-place in Geneva in June 1962 / false (or perhaps rogue) physical defector to the U.S. in February 1964, Yuri "The KGB Had Absolutely Nothing to Do with Former Marine Sharpshooter and U-2 Radar Operator Oswald in the USSR" Nosenko because he was telling him what he wanted to hear.

LOL!

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