“You cannot make a revolution with silk gloves.”

Political power does not rest with those who cast votes; political power rests with those who count votes.

Our new Soviet constitution will, in my opinion, be the most democratic constitution of all those existing in the world.

It doesn’t matter who they vote for, they always vote for us.

Mankind is divided into rich and poor, into property owners and exploited; and to abstract oneself from this fundamental division; and from the antagonism between poor and rich means abstracting oneself from fundamental facts.

The reason why there is now no communist government in Paris is because in the circumstances of 1945 the Soviet army was not able to reach French soil.

Voters decide nothing. Vote counters decide everything!

Quantity has a quality all its own.

The death of one man is tragic, but the death of thousands is statistic.

It’s not the people who vote that count. It’s the people who count the votes.

You know, they are fooling us, there is no God.

The only real power comes out of a long rifle.

When you chop wood, splinters fly.

This creature softened my heart of stone. She died and with her died my last warm feelings for humanity.

The rich experience of history teaches that up to now not a single class has voluntarily made way for another class.

How do you expect the Germans to revolt when they don’t even dare walk on the grass?

Education is a weapon the effect of which is determined by the hands which wield it, by who is to be struck down.

For the first time I feel an inner emotional security. There is reality and dependability. My life revolves around Richard and the baby.

The most revolutionary act women can do is take back the life that belongs to you.

Calmness will always produce solutions. No revolution ever began without a sharp exhale.

General rebellions and revolts of a whole people never were encouraged now or at any time. They are always provoked.

I’m not at all embarrassed to be a revolutionary.

Now that mobile phones and the internet have altered the epistemic selective landscape in a revolutionary way, every religious organisation must scramble to evolve defences or become extinct.

Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.

The scrupulous and the just, the noble, humane, and devoted natures; the unselfish and the intelligent may begin a movement – but it passes away from them. They are not the leaders of a revolution. They are its victims.