“There must be those who differ. If there were no unorthodox thought there would be no thought at all”

“You could kill a man, but you could never break him.”

“So much of difference between a triumph and a flop is determined by choice of venue.”

“The golden stock of the Russian Revolution.' Where is this golden stock today? These people have come to replace them. From the top to the bottom.They are offering up Russia,they driving people to their deaths.Sasha remembered:Panait Istrati had called those who had opposed and fought against Stalin in the 1920s and who were annihilated by him in the 1930s 'the golden stock of the Russian Revolution”

“...For all the profound human modesty of Comrade Stalin,he will have to tolerate our outpourings of love and loyalty to him[applause],because not only we,who live and work under his direction,but all the working people in our land,tie their hopes for a radiant future for mankind to his name.[Applause] 'Listen,why should I read this? Let's go' Gleb repeated. All right.All right. But what do you think?-He's flunky!-But he wrote The Quiet Don,a great novel.In the twenties there was doubt about his authorship.They even had a special commission to investigate.I heard something about that.Akimov told me.The read author was some White officer.But no one would acknowledge that...If The Quiet Don is a work of genius,the author cannot be flunky.As your beloved Pushkin said,dearie,genius and evil are incompatible.Not every genius can overcome fear.And Sholokhov is no genius.”

“They are all blinded and stunned by him,he's a God for them -- greater than a God,because people who believe in God have a concept of good and evil,charity,redemption,compassion but they don't.They have only Stalin. He's their god and their conscience.”

“Someone said that revolutions are begun by idealists and ended by the scoundrels who destroy the idealists.”