Quotessence
Home / Authors / Irina Ratushinskaya Biography
Irina Ratushinskaya

Irina Ratushinskaya Biography

Poet

Related Quotes

“All this [Soviet labor camp for political prisoners] brings about one marked change in your physical appearance; by the end of your first year, you will have what are known as 'zek's eyes.' The look in a zek's eyes is impossible to describe, but once encountered, it is never forgotten. When you emerge, your friends, embracing you, will exclaim: 'Your eyes! Your eyes have changed!' And not one of your tormentors will be able to bear your scrutiny. They will turn away from it, like beaten dogs.”

YearsFirstsLooksEndsEyeAblePoliticalTurnsKnownImpossibleDogChangedBearsLaborPrisonForgottenAppearancePrisonerCampsSovietBeatenScrutinyPhysical AppearancePolitical Prisoners
Author:Irina Ratushinskaya
Create image

“you must not, under any circumstances, allow yourself to hate. Not because your tormentors have not earned it. But if you allow hatred to take root, it would flourish and spread during your years in the camps, driving out everything else, and ultimately corrode and warp your soul. You will no longer be yourself, your identity will be destroyed, all that will remain will be a hysterical, maddened and bedevilled husk of the human being that once was.”

IfsYearsHumansSoulHateHuman BeingsIdentityCircumstancesRootsHatredPrisonSpreadDrivingDestroyedYour SoulBeing YourselfCampsHystericalWarp
Author:Irina Ratushinskaya
Create image