E Che

“Быть русским человеком - значит быть пессимистом; быть советским человеком - значит быть оптимистом. Поэтому выражение "Советская Россия" внутренне противоречиво.”
― Julian Barnes, The Noise of Time

“Когда говорить правду стало невозможно (поскольку это каралось смертью), пришлось ее маскировать. В еврейской народной традиции маской отчаяния служит танец. А здесь маской правды сделалась ирония. Потому что на нее слух тирана обычно не настроен.”
― Джулиан Барнс, The Noise of Time

“To be Russian was to be pessimistic; to be Soviet was to be optimistic.”
― Julian Barnes, The Noise of Time

“Being a hero was much easier than being a coward. To be a hero, you only had to be brave for a moment - when you took out the gun, threw the bomb, pressed the detonator, did away with the tyrant, and away with yourself as well. But to be a coward was to embark on a career that lasted a lifetime. You couldn't ever relax. You had to anticipate the next occasion when you would have to make excuses for yourself, dither, cringe, reacquaint yourself with the taste of rubber boots and the state of your own fallen, abject character. Being a coward required pertinacity, persistence, a refusal to change - which made it, in a way, a kind of courage.”
― Julian Barnes, The Noise of Time