I ask you to forgive me for not fulfilling some hopes of those people who believed that we would be able to jump from the totalitarian past into a bright, rich and civilized future in one go.
BORIS YELTSINWe want peace and a political solution to the situation in Chechnya.
More Boris Yeltsin Quotes
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A man must live like a great brilliant flame and burn as brightly as he can. In the end he burns out. But this is far better than a mean little flame.
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Gorbachev gave us freedom of worship and freedom of speech and freedom to see what was going on and freedom to vote, but that freedom won’t last unless it is underpinned by economic freedom.
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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.
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I believe in this tragic hour you can make the right choice. The honor and glory of Russian men of arms shall not be stained with the blood of the people.
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Let’s not talk about Communism. Communism was just and idea, just pie in the sky.
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The Soviet Union could not exist without the image of the empire. The image of the empire could not exist without the image of force. The USSR ended the moment the first hammer pounded the Berlin Wall.
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We, Russia, are prepared to work with others. I am convinced that stability and security in Europe cannot be considered without taking Russia into account.
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We don’t appreciate what we have until it’s gone. Freedom is like that. It’s like air. When you have it, you don’t notice it.
BORIS YELTSIN -
We Russians are already living, not getting ready to live.
BORIS YELTSIN -
Storm clouds of terror and dictatorship are gathering over the whole country… They must not be allowed to bring eternal night.
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Money, big money (which is actually a relative concept) is always, under any circumstances, a seduction, a test of morals, a temptation to sin.
BORIS YELTSIN -
I am convinced that the moment is coming when, with its message of eternal, universal values, it will come to the aid of our society. For in these words: “Thou shalt not kill; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,” lie those very moral principles that will enable us to survive even the most critical situations.
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I refer to calls for humanitarian intervention in the affairs of another state – a new idea, this – even when they are made under the pretext of defending human rights and freedoms.
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I especially love driving down a hill directly at a tree and swerving to one side at the last moment. That’s my way to relax.
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A sense of proportion and humanitarian action are not issues for terrorists. Their aim is that of killing and destroying.
BORIS YELTSIN







