Mrs. Paine. To talk Russian. She is very hard to find, a person speaking modern Russian, and in fact I know of no other, and this was an opportunity for me to again practice in the language, a rather unusual opportunity, and I was interested in meeting her and getting to know her.
Mr. Jenner. Mr. Chairman, I will go back and develop this lady's interest in the Russian language during the course of the examination, and her prior study of the language up to this point. She did have an abiding interest in the language at this particular point, but I wanted to get at the initial meeting first before anything further.
Mr. McCloy. Very well.
Mr. Jenner. You say modern Russian, that Marina Oswald had a command of modern Russian. Would you please explain to us what you mean by that?
Mrs. Paine. Well, I am not in a position to judge a person, whether a person is speaking modern Russian or not. My language is not that good, but she talked with—this was later, I only assumed that she had—I hoped that she spoke good Russian. I didn't know at that time whether she spoke educated Russian or not. Shall I jump ahead?
Mr. Jenner. Well, I wish you wouldn't. You meant, then, by your expression that you hoped to find that she did speak educated Russian?
Mrs. Paine. Yes; right.
Mr. Jenner. And if she did, that then you might profit or learn from her educated Russian to a greater degree than you knew it as of that time? That was your main interest at the moment?
Mrs. Paine. Yes.
Mr. Jenner. Aside from interests in another lady or human being under those circumstances?