Boris Yeltsin

There were no strategic mistakes that could affect Russia’s history and it further development. No, there were no such mistakes. Tactical errors were made in some less significant options, problems and so on. But, on the whole, Russia embarked on a correct path and it changed.

While maintaining our nuclear potential at the proper level, we need to devote more attention to developing the entire range of means of information warfare.

There are numerous bugbears in the profession of a politician. First, ordinary life suffers. Second, there are many temptations to ruin you and those around you. And I suppose third, and this is rarely discussed, people at the top generally have no friends.

We want peace and a political solution to the situation in Chechnya.

One could see that what you are writing was that today’s meeting with President Bill Clinton was going to be a disaster. Now, for the first time, I can tell you that you are a disaster.

You have no right to criticise Russia over Chechnya.

I was down there, and I watched our police and our firemen, down on 7-11, down at the World Trade Center, right after it came down

This nuclear option is ultimately an example of the arrogance of power.

Think of the feudal system. You had kings and princes and bishops and lords and so on. They for the most part did not want power to be totally concentrated, they didn’t want total tyrants.

This administration is extremely unpredictable. Trump probably has no idea what he’s going to do five minutes from now, so you can’t-literally-make predictions with much confidence.

Socialism means keeping account of everything. You will have socialism if you take stock of every piece of iron and cloth.

The American way is the way most law-abiding, tax-paying Americans live-in debt. Does this make a balanced budget un-American?

It didn’t take very many forces to destroy huge numbers of natives, not so much because the technology was better, but because the Europeans fought differently. If we were to be honest about the history, we would describe European colonialism simply as a barbarian invasion.

This notion of being “anti-American” is quite an interesting one-it’s actually a totalitarian notion-it isn’t used in free societies…as far as I know, we are the only democratic society where the concept isn’t just ridiculed.

The only reason I don’t use the word class is that the terminology of political discourse is so debased it’s hard to find any words at all. That’s part of the point — to make it impossible to talk.

I think George W. Bush has a warm, engaging personality. But, you know, the presidency is more than just a popularity contest.

The more intermediaries there are, the more problems there are.

So we’re destroying the environment for organized human life. We’re threatening a terminal disaster with regular nuclear confrontations. Anybody who has looked at the record, which is shocking, would have to conclude that it’s a miracle that we’ve survived this long.

I am Syrian, I was made in Syria, I have to live in Syria and die in Syria.

The government of the world I live in was not framed, like that of Britain, in after-dinner conversations over the wine.

President Hoover has done everything any one could do to bring about improvement in business and industry. Everything President Hoover has advised or tried to put into effect has been sound.