Soviet History Quotes

“Ivan, the Russian sharpshooter, was sitting, gun in hand, behind one of Borg’s men on a motorbike further down South Eaton Place. The wooden barriers, the parked lorry and the elderly gentleman with the stick were all part of Isaac Walsh’s plan, aimed at hampering the policemen and giving Abbott a chance to escape.”
― Mark Ellis, Death of an Officer

“Merlin stood up. For once, late as it was, he was pleased to see the Assistant Commissioner because he had been trying unsuccessfully to get hold of him all day. “May I introduce Detective Bernard Goldberg of the New York Police Department.”
Merlin held out a hand to the stocky young man now standing on the AC’s right. Detective Goldberg was an inch or two shorter than Merlin, with a closely cropped head of dark-brown hair and the crumpled face of a man who might have walked into a wall.”
― Mark Ellis, The French Spy

“Early on Captain Gribble could see the devastating effect that the thousands of desperate refugees were having on the people living in the jungle - fleeing through the Kachin and Naga villages and crowding into the houses.”
― Elizabeth Tebby Germaine, EXTRAORDINARY TRUE STORIES OF SURVIVAL IN BURMA WW2: tens of thousands fled to India from the Japanese Invasion in 1942

“Stalin's successes and failures must be not just re-studied; they have yet to be discovered and acknowledged.”
― Grover Furr, Khrushchev Lied

“Krushchev himself is 'revealed' not as an honest communist but instead as a political leader seeking personal advantage while hiding behind an official persona of idealism and probity, a type familiar in capitalist countries. Taking into account his murder of Beria and the men executed as 'Beria's gang' in 1953, he seems worse still - a political thug. Krushchev was guilty IN REALITY of the kinds of crimes he DELIBERATELY AND FALSELY accused Stalin of in the 'Secret Speech'.”
― Grover Furr, Khrushchev Lied

“The official position of the present Cuban government is that President Machado had Mella assassinated, but it recognizes that both Vittorio Vidali and the vivacious Tina Modotti were Stalinist operatives. Vidali was well known in Spain as Carlos or Comandante Contreras, the Commander of the Communist 5th Régiment of the Republican Militia. He was greatly feared, being a known assassin, and was allegedly responsible for the deaths of many anti-Stalinists within the Communist ranks. Later when he returned to Mexico, Vidali was acknowledged as having been involved in the May 24, 1940, failed attack on Trotsky’s life. On August 20, 1940, another Stalinist and Soviet NKVD agent, Ramón Mercader, an accomplice to Vidali, sank a mountaineering pickaxe deep into Trotsky’s skull. Taken to a Mexico City hospital, Trotsky lingered long enough to identify his attacker and died the following day. Mercader was convicted and sentenced to twenty years in a Mexican prison for the murder. During his time in prison, Joseph Stalin as leader of the Soviet Union awarded him the Order of Lenin, in absentia. After his release in 1961, Mercader officially became a Hero of the Soviet Union. On October 18, 1978, at the age of 65, Ramón Mercader died in Havana.”
― Captain Hank Bracker, The Exciting Story of Cuba

“Red Army soldier Danylo could only sleep while moving – in transport – and even that could hardly be called sleep at all.”
― Володимир Шабля, Камень. Биографический роман. Книга вторая. Непростые дороги в ад: Выживание в условиях насилия

“Bang!”
The explosion thundered right beside him. Danilo’s body was thrown aside like a rag doll, and his mind shut down instantly.
What happened next, Red Army soldier Shablia neither saw nor heard.
The sounds of battle, the shouts of men, machine-gun fire, shell bursts — even the massive shockwave when the bridge and dam were blown up — could no longer reach his consciousness.
Author: Volodymyr Shablia:



Context note: This passage describes the moments of Danylo Shablia's last battle during the chaotic retreat of the Red Army, emphasizing the sudden, impersonal nature of events in World War II.”
― Володимир Шабля, Камінь. Біографічний роман. Книга друга. Непрості дороги до пекла: Виживання в умовах насильства.

“When his fingers touched the bread during the inspection of his duffel bag, and he inhaled its warm rye scent, Peeter could no longer restrain himself. He broke off a small piece, placed it in his mouth, and chewed for a long time, trying – if only briefly – to deceive the constant hunger. For a moment, it worked: he swallowed the paste-like pap, felt a rush of euphoria, and quietly fell asleep.
— Volodymyr Shablia, Stone. Book Two


Context note: During prisoner transports to the Gulag, hunger was constant. Even a single bite of bread could bring brief relief – and an almost euphoric sense of escape from terrible reality.”
― Володимир Шабля, Камень. Биографический роман. Книга вторая. Непростые дороги в ад: Выживание в условиях насилия

“Peter had only just graduated with honors from the Zaporizhzhia Pedagogical Institute and was supposed to leave for his first teaching job the very next day. Instead, he was arrested.
For what sins was a student obsessed with honesty punished — a young man who had risen from the very bottom of society and sincerely believed in the socialist ideal? His parents did not know. Peter himself did not know either. He believed what had happened was a terrible mistake and hoped it would soon be corrected.
— Volodymyr Shablia, Stone. Book Two


Context note: In the Stalinist USSR, arrests often struck young, loyal, and idealistic citizens. Many believed their detention was a bureaucratic error — until the machinery of repression proved otherwise.”
― Володимир Шабля, Камінь. Біографічний роман. Книга друга. Непрості дороги до пекла: Виживання в умовах насильства.

“That’s how we’ve ended up,” Ivan said with a bitter smile. “We work, as in the proverb: Enough trading, father — there’s no change left to give.
‘Why did they suddenly increase the grain procurement plan?’ Vasyl protested.
‘Everything seems the same — but it isn’t,’ Danylo explained. ‘The status of our land has changed, and so has the status of the collective farmers. What grew last year is now taxed differently. Even the poor peasants who joined the collective are no longer considered poor — and the taxes rise accordingly.’
‘Clever,’ Ivan muttered angrily. ‘They’ve laid out their accounting traps well.’
— Volodymyr Shablia, Stone. Book Two


Context note: In Soviet collective farms, taxes and grain quotas were often increased not because of real agricultural growth, but due to bureaucratic reclassification. Accounting became a tool of pressure that made normal farming impossible.”
― Володимир Шабля, Камінь. Біографічний роман. Книга друга. Непрості дороги до пекла: Виживання в умовах насильства.

“The most effective move would be to send the tanks with infantry west of Bolshaya Belozerka” Commander Smirnov proposed. “Enemy units there are nearly destroyed — we could threaten a real encirclement.”
“That won’t be possible,” the chief of staff objected. “A combat order has just arrived from фронт headquarters: the 15th Tank Brigade, the 530th Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment, and the 30th Cavalry Division are are redeployed to support the 12th Army near Pavlograd, where the situation is critical.”
Smirnov turned pale, then his eyes filled with blood. “Damn it!” he slammed his fist on the table. “We needed just two more days. Without tanks now, we’re helpless.
— Volodymyr Shablia, Stone. Book Two


Context note: In 1941, rigid bureaucracy and centralized command in the Red Army often prevented commanders from exploiting battlefield opportunities. Delays, reassignments, and fear of independent decisions frequently led to disastrous outcomes.”
― Володимир Шабля, Камень. Биографический роман. Книга вторая. Непростые дороги в ад: Выживание в условиях насилия