Mr. Paine. He said he wanted to go to Russia. He had chosen to go to Russia.
Mr. Liebeler. He didn't elaborate on it?
Mr. Paine. No; I gathered he had had an interest in going to Russia for a number of years prior to the time he got there and decided that that was the paradise of the world and through fortunate relations between this country and Russia at the time, I would have to remember history to know whether that was a warm, a friendly time or not, but he indicated both his going and his coming were fortunate times in history or something that made it possible for him to do these.
Mr. Dulles. Fortunate times?
Mr. Paine. Fortunate times, this was sort of an accident in history. This is what I gathered from his conversation.
Representative Ford. Fortunate that he could leave at the time and fortunate that he could come back.
Mr. Paine. Fortunate that he could be accepted to emigrate to Russia. He told me that he had—so he went to Russia and he tried to surrender his passport to the Russians but the State Department would not give it to him, or the consul in Moscow, which was—which proved to be fortunate because then a few years later when he wanted to return it would not have been possible, except if they still had his passport. He had not legally surrendered it.
Mr. Liebeler. Did he indicate that was a fortunate circumstance?
Mr. Paine. I think he smiled, he indicated to me he genuinely had wanted to become a Russian citizen and to surrender it. He wanted to renounce his American citizenship. He tried to, and the Russians, he told me, had accepted his bona fide intentions and tried to get the passport away from the Americans.
Representative Ford. Was the failure to get his passport a determining factor in their not accepting his desires?