“Here's to the day when the complete works of Leon Trotsky are published and widely distributed in the Soviet Union. On that day the USSR will have achieved democracy!” DemocracyUnionsSovietSoviet UnionUssrLeonTrotsky Author:C. Wright Mills
“How can there be democracy if the leadership in the United States and Britain don't uphold the values which my father's generation fought the Nazis, millions of people gave their lives against the Soviet Union's regime, didn't they? Because of what? Democracy. And what democracy meant. No torture, no camps, no detention forever or without trial, without charges. In solitary confinement. Those techniques which are not just alleged, they have actually been written about by the FBI. I don't think it's being far left - I hope that I'm wrong to consider that it's far left to uphold the rule of law.” PeopleIfsThinkingStatesLawValuesFatherLeftUnitedMillionsUnited StatesForeverDemocracyWrittenGenerationsUnionsTechniqueTrialsTortureBritainCampsSovietRegimesSolitaryNaziSoviet UnionFbiRule Of LawConfinementDetentionSolitary Confinement Author:Vanessa Redgrave
“Scholars have been arguing for a long time whether the Soviet Union could have been turned into some kind of social democracy. I doubt it myself. I think what Gorbachev didn't quite understand, until it was too late, is that his efforts at change unleashed new, certrifical forces he hadn't counted on. He opened the door a crack and a huge wind blew it open.” ThinkingKindLongHas BeensForceSocialEffortDemocracyDoubtDoorsWindHugeLateLong TimeUnionsArguingToo LateCracksSovietScholarSoviet UnionCould Have BeenUnleashedGorbachevSocial Democracy Author:David Hoffman
“The Soviet Union attempted to export communism to the entire world. We know what came of that. Now the West is trying to export democracy, including to regions where there is no traditional foundation for it. That cannot end well.” KnowsWorldTryingWellsEndsDemocracyFoundationUnionsWestIncludingTraditionalCommunismRegionsSovietSoviet Union Author:Vladimir Yakunin
“The first year I was in office, only about 800 people came out of the Soviet Union, Jews. By the third year I was in office... second year, 1979, 51,000 came out of the Soviet Union. And every one of the human rights heroes - I'll use the word - who have come out of the Soviet Union, have said it was a turning point in their lives, and not only in the Soviet Union but also in places like Czechoslovakia and Hungary and Poland [they] saw this human rights policy of mine as being a great boost to the present democracy and freedom that they enjoy.” PeopleYearsFirstsHumansSaidUseEnjoyDemocracySawsRightsPolicyMinesHeroOfficeThirdsUnionsHuman RightsJewSovietSoviet UnionTurning PointsBoostPolandHungaryCzechoslovakia Author:Jimmy Carter
“We had in the West a very romantic vision of Russia back in 1991, when the Soviet Union died and whatever is Russia began to emerge. And we began to think of it as a democracy. We're going to bring it into the West. All is going to be wonderful. That was never in the cards.” ThinkingVisionDemocracyWonderfulDiedUnionsWestRussiaCardsSovietSoviet UnionVery Romantic Author:Marvin Kalb
“What happened to the Soviet Union happened mainly for domestic reasons. It was a failure of the model based on a command economy and dictatorship. The rejection of freedom and democracy, the decisionmaking monopoly of one party, and the monopoly of one ideology all had a chilling effect on the country. That model turned out to be incapable of making structural changes. It did not open up ways for initiative and was overly centralized.” WayCountryReasonPartyEconomyDemocracyHappenedEffectsModelsUnionsCommandIdeologyRejectionSovietInitiativeDictatorshipIncapableSoviet UnionChillMonopolyCommand Economy Author:Mikhail Gorbachev
“The Bolshevik revolution was a counter-revolution. Its first moves were to destroy and eliminate every socialist tendency that had developed in the pre-revolutionary period. Their goal was as they said; it wasn't a big secret. They regarded the Soviet Union as sort a backwater. They were orthodox Marxists, expecting a revolution in Germany. They moved toward what they themselves called "state capitalism," then they moved on to Stalinism. They called it democracy and called it socialism. The one claim was as ludicrous as the other.” FirstsSaidStatesBigsMovingGoalSecretDemocracyRevolutionPeriodsCapitalismClaimsMovedUnionsSocialismTendenciesRevolutionaryGermanyOrthodoxSovietExpectingSocialistThey SaidSoviet UnionMarxistMoved OnStalinismBolsheviks Author:Noam Chomsky
“When you read about the end of the Soviet Union, it's always about the "death of socialism." They never say "the death of democracy." But it makes about the same sense.” EndsDemocracyUnionsSocialismSovietSoviet Union Author:Noam Chomsky