Boris Yeltsin Quotes
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It is especially important to encourage unorthodox thinking when the situation is critical
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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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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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I cannot shift the blame for Chechnya, for the sorrow of numerous mothers and fathers. I made the decision, therefore I am responsible.
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There are numerous bugbears in the profession of a politician. First, ordinary life suffers. Second, there are many temptations to ruin you and those around you. And I suppose third, and this is rarely discussed, people at the top generally have no friends.
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You can build a throne with bayonets, but it's difficult to sit on it.
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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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Not a single reform effort in Russia has ever been completed.
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Thousands of mercenaries, who have trained in camps on the territory of Chechnya as well as come in from abroad, are actually preparing to impose extremist ideas on the whole world.
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A sense of proportion and humanitarian action are not issues for terrorists. Their aim is that of killing and destroying.
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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.
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I will not step down, I will not resign, ... I will work to the end of my term in office under the constitution. In the year 2000, there will be presidential elections under the constitution and I will not run in those elections.
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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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The West has not lived through totalitarianism, with a single ideology for 70 years.We are escaping from the burden of the past, and onlyafter we have done that will we be ready to integrate with Europeand Europe needs Russia.
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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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We all have an equal interest in stability and security throughout Europe. The years the OSCE has existed, and particularly this year, have given rise to great expectations and at the same time to powerful disappointments.
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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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We want peace and a political solution to the situation in Chechnya.
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I understand that it's hard for everyone, but one cannot give in to emotions... we'll have to draw lessons from the current crisis and now we'll have to work on overcoming it.
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We are well aware from which countries and through which countries the terrorists are receiving support. In the immediate future I shall be calling upon the leaders of these states to put a stop to this kind of activity.
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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.
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International terrorism is throwing down a challenge, and not just to Russia.
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There were no strategic mistakes that could affect Russia's history and it further development. No, there were no such mistakes. Tactical errors were made in some less significant options, problems and so on. But, on the whole, Russia embarked on a correct path and it changed.
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You have no right to criticise Russia over Chechnya.
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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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Liberty sets the mind free, fosters independence and unorthodox thinking and ideas. But it does not offer instant prosperity or happiness and wealth to everyone.
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A government is not an old pair of socks that you throw away.
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We Russians are already living, not getting ready to live.
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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.
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Europe has found itself confronted with fresh challenges - challenges of a global character, the nature of which is directly connected with changes in the international climate and the difficulties of seeking new models for co-operation.
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Boris Yeltsin
- Born: February 1, 1931
- Died: April 23, 2007
- Occupation: Former Russian President
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