Stalin Era Quotes

“All Russians I knew hoped passionately that, with Hitler beaten, the War allies might continue friendship into long years of peace. They knew, of course - they had known all through the war - that there were elements in America that sabotaged the alliance, and even some who would rather see Hitler win. For two years while Russians perished by millions, they had watched their Allies delay the promised "second front" in the west.”
― Anna Louise Strong, The Stalin era

“Three times, in my years in the USSR , it was decided to limit the police powers and bring the State Security organs under law; each time the name changed but the powers resumed. Such a police becomes a state within a state, with a vested interest in finding "plots," some of which really exist. Such a police presents another danger; its hidden membership is the first organization penetrated by enemy provocateurs.”
― Anna Louise Strong, The Stalin era

“Neither Hitler nor the West had attacked each other seriously. The Western Front was in what was called 'the phony war'; both sides sat in their fortifications. Hitler was not yet prepared for an all-out assault westward; this took time to organize. And Hitler was also aware that he had friends in the British and French upper class who might yield to his demands. Important voices in the press of Britain, France and America urged that 'the wrong war' had started, that the war should be switched against the USSR as the greater enemy.”
― Anna Louise Strong, The Stalin era

“Month after month, the Russians, bearing the brunt of war, had waited. The Anglo-American landing did not come until June 6, 1944, when the Russian army had already liberated most of the USSR and was driving across Poland. Many Russians had bitterly wondered whether the Allies delayed so that Russia might take the loss, and landed at last in Normandy because they could not afford to let Russians take Berlin alone.”
― Anna Louise Strong, The Stalin era

“Russians had not grudged it when the world war turned both the Atlantic and Pacific into 'American lakes,' but when these same Americans, who had taken all the oceans and who were building bases on their islands and shores, called Russia greedy for taking back what she formerly owned, this ranked.”
― Anna Louise Strong, The Stalin era

“A volley thundered — and the prisoner kneeling beside Peter collapsed lifelessly into the dirt. Three more men fell elsewhere along the line.
“Reload!” the State Security lieutenant kept commanding. “Aim!”
Peter turned his gaze toward the NKVD squad. A rifle was pointed straight at his chest, the bayonet gleaming. He looked into the barrel.
“Can a crude piece of lead really destroy my unique soul forever? No — that is absurd!”
In a state of shock, he felt himself tearing away from reality, rising above the turmoil into a silvery, radiant height. Below, his body knelt on the ground. But his essence — his soul — watched what was happening with bitter irony from above. His gaze turned toward the beautiful light descending from the heavens.
Peter shuddered. The rifle was still aimed at his chest. Yet he felt no fear. Now he knew: his soul could not die — it was impossible. His essence, his spirit — and therefore he himself — were immortal.
“Stand down!” the NKVD lieutenant said with relief. “This time you are spared. But if there is any further sabotage, there will be no mercy.”
— Volodymyr Shablia, Stone. Book One


Context note: During a prisoner transport in Stalin’s USSR, Peter witnesses an execution and is moments away from being shot himself. Facing death, fear gives way to a profound inner realization about the immortality of the human spirit.”
― Володимир Шабля, Камень. Биографический роман: Часть первая. Первые шаги к свету и обратно

“Stalin perceived the world in stark black and white. In the same way, he divided people, nations, actions, and ideas into only two absolute categories: “ours” and “theirs.”
“Ours” were all those — and everything — that, at the moment of decision, fell under his control or contributed to strengthening it. “Theirs” were everyone else, and everything else.
He saw his role as a strategist in constructing a system of power that would force each of the “ours,” individually and collectively, to work at the very limit of human endurance in order to fulfill his strategic design.
That design was simple and ruthless: to endlessly increase the number and strength of the “ours” by coercing the “theirs” into becoming “ours,” while simultaneously destroying — or, as a last resort, neutralizing — all who refused to submit.
— Volodymyr Shablia, Stone. Book One


Context note:
This passage reflects the ideological logic of Stalinist totalitarianism, where power was built on absolute division, forced loyalty, and systematic repression. In the Soviet worldview of the 1930s–1940s, survival depended on belonging to “ours” — or being destroyed as “theirs.”
― Володимир Шабля, Камень. Биографический роман: Часть первая. Первые шаги к свету и обратно