Once he was accepted as a resident alien in the Soviet Union, Oswald was given considerable benefits which ordinary Soviet citizens in his position in society did not have. The “Historic Diary” recites that after Oswald was informed that he could remain in the Soviet Union and was being sent to Minsk he was given 5,000 rubles[C] ($500) by the “Red Cross, * * * for expenses.” He used 2,200 rubles to pay his hotel bill, and another 150 rubles to purchase a train ticket. With the balance of slightly over 2,500 rubles, Oswald felt, according to the diary, like a rich man.[C6-209] Oswald did not receive free living quarters, as the diary indicates the “Mayor” of Minsk promised him,[C6-210] but about 6 weeks after his arrival he did receive an apartment, very pleasant by Soviet standards, for which he was required to pay only 60 rubles ($6.00) a month. Oswald considered the apartment “almost rent free.”[C6-211] Oswald was given a job in the “Byelorussian Radio and Television Factory,” where his pay on a per piece basis ranged from 700 to 900 rubles ($70-$90) a month.[C6-212] According to his wife, this rate of pay was average for people in his occupation but good by Soviet standards generally.[C6-213] She explained that piecework rates throughout the Soviet Union have generally grown out of line with compensation for other jobs.[C6-214] The CIA has confirmed that this condition exists in many areas and occupations in the Soviet Union.[C6-215] In addition to his salary, Oswald regularly received 700 rubles ($70) per month from the Soviet “Red Cross.”[C6-216] The well-paying job, the monthly subsidy, and the “almost rent-free” apartment combined to give Oswald more money than he needed. The only complaint recorded in the “Historic Diary” is that there was “no place to spend the money.”[C6-217] [C] About a year after Oswald received this money, the ruble was revalued to about 10 times its earlier value. The Commission has found no basis for associating Oswald’s preferred income with Soviet undercover activity. Marina Oswald testified that foreign nationals are commonly given special treatment in the Soviet Union,[C6-218] and the Central Intelligence Agency has confirmed that it is standard practice in the Soviet Union for Americans and other foreign defectors from countries with high standards of living to be “subsidized.”[C6-219] Apparently it is Soviet practice to attempt to make life sufficiently pleasant for a foreign defector so that he will not become disillusioned and return to his native country. The Commission has also assumed that it is customary for Soviet intelligence agencies to keep defectors under surveillance during their residence in the Soviet Union, through periodic interviews of neighbors and associates of the defector.[C6-220] Oswald once mentioned that the Soviet police questioned his neighbors occasionally.[C6-221] [Illustration: PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE OSWALDS IN MINSK, U.S.S.R. (COMMISSION EXHIBIT 1392)