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Nikita Khrushchev

28 quotes

“They say that the Soviet delegates smile. That smile is genuine. It is not artificial. We wish to live in peace, tranquility. But if anyone believes that our smiles involve abandonment of the teaching of Marx, Engels and Lenin he deceives himself poorly. Those who wait for that must wait until a shrimp learns to whistle.”
Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) first seen 1955 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Impromptu speech at a dinner for visiting East German dignitaries, Moscow (September 17, 1955), as reported by The New York Times (September 18, 1955), p. 19.
“Yes, today we have genuine Russian weather. Yesterday we had Swedish weather. I can't understand why your weather is so terrible. Maybe it is because you are immediate neighbours of NATO.”
Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) first seen 1956 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: At a Swedish-Soviet summit which began on March 30, 1956, in Moscow. The stenographed discussion was later published by the Swedish Government, as quoted in Raoul Wallenberg (1985) by Eric Sjöquist, p. 119
“Finding a reason for an armed conflict now would be very easy, but finding a way to put an end to such a conflict would be very hard.”
Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) first seen 1956 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted with regard to Poland in "Jan Svoboda’s Notes on the CPSU CC Presidium Meeting with Satellite Leaders", October 24, 1956
“Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will dig you in. (.)”
Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) first seen 1953 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Remark to western ambassadors during a diplomatic reception in Moscow (18 November 1956) as quoted in Memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev: Statesman, 1953-1964, Penn State Press, 2007, (2007) by Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev, p…
“When it is a question of fighting against imperialism we can state with conviction that we are all Stalinists. We can take pride that we have taken part in the fight for the advance of our great cause against our enemies. From that point of view I am proud that we are Stalinists.”
Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) first seen 1956 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Remark made at Kremlin New Year's Eve reception, December 31, 1956. Quoted in Khrushchev by Edward Crankshaw.
“I am very glad to hear this, since I come from the Ukraine. From now on I can sleep peacefully. I will immediately telegraph my daughter in Kiev.”
Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) first seen 1709 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Khrushchev's reply when the Swedish prime minister Erlander assured him that Sweden had no intention of repeating the 1709 Battle of Poltava in eastern Ukraine between Russia and Sweden. From a Swedish-Soviet summit whi…
“If Adenauer were here with us in the sauna, we could see for ourselves that Germany is and will remain divided but also that Germany never will rise again.”
Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) first seen 1957 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Said during a late night visit to a sauna with Finland's president Kekkonen in June 1957. Translated from Våldets århundrade (2001) by Max Jakobson, p. 220
“A man emaciated by a grave illness is at first treated by doctors gradually. Food is administered to him in small doses. If more is administered to the patient, it might kill him. And so we want to begin disarmament not with a full dose, although we are prepared even for a full dose. I have said already that the Western powers greatly distrust us. We, too, do not trust them in everything. And so, in order not to destroy a thing which is of great and vital importance to mankind, disarmament, we suggest to begin not with a cardinal but with a gradual solution to disarmament problems.”
Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) first seen 1958 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview with Iverach McDonald, London Times (January 1958)
“The thought sometimes -- the unpleasant thought sometimes creeps up on me here as to whether perhaps Khrushchev was not invited here to enable you to sort of rub him in your sauce and to show the might and the strength of the United States so as to make him sort of … so as to make him shaky at the knees. If that is so, then if I came -- if it took me about 12 hours to get here, I guess it'll just -- it'll take no more than about 10½ hours to fly back.”
Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) said by 1971 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I happened to read recently a remark by the American nuclear physicist W. Davidson, who noted that the explosion of one hydrogen bomb releases a greater amount of energy than all the explosions set off by all countries in all wars known in the entire history of mankind. And he, apparently, is right.”
Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) first seen 1959 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Address to the United Nations, New York City (September 18, 1959), as reported by The New York Times (September 19, 1959), p. 8. The physicist quoted was eventually found to be William Davidon, associate physicist at Ar…
“We have come to this town where lives the cream of American art.… But just now I was told that I could not go to Disneyland. I asked "Why not? What is it? Do you have rocket-launching pads there?" I do not know. Just listen to what reason I was told: "We," which means the American authorities, "cannot guarantee your security if you go there." What is it? Is there an epidemic of cholera there or something? Or have gangsters taken over the place that can destroy me? Then what must I do? Commit suicide? … For me, this situation is inconceivable. I cannot find words to explain this to my people.”
Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) first seen 1959 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Remarks during a Hollywood luncheon (19 September 1959), quoted in New York Times (20 September 1959) "Text of Khrushchev Debate With Skouras
“Mr. President, call the toady of American imperialism to order.”
Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) first seen 1960 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Remark in the United Nations General Assembly (12 October 1960), denouncing a speech by Philippines delegate Lorenzo Sumulong
“Don't you know how to paint? My grandson will paint it better! What is this? Are you men or damned pederasts? How can you paint like that? Do you have a conscience?”
Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) first seen 1962 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Said to avant-garde artists Ely Bielutin and Ernst Neizvestny during a visit to their exhibition (1 December 1962)
“Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river.”
Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) first seen 1963 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Comment on the construction of a bridge in Belgrade (22 August 1963), quoted in Chicago Tribune (22 August 1963) "Khrushchev Needles Peking
“Berlin is the testicle of the West. When I want the West to scream, I squeeze on Berlin.”
Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) first seen 1963 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Aug. 24, 1963, speech in Yugoslavia
“If you start throwing hedgehogs under me, I shall throw a couple of porcupines under you.”
Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) first seen 1963 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in The New York Times (7 November 1963)
“I remember President Kennedy once stated... that the United States had the nuclear missile capacity to wipe out the Soviet Union two times over, while the Soviet Union had enough atomic weapons to wipe out the United States only once... When journalists asked me to comment... I said jokingly, "Yes, I know what Kennedy claims, and he's quite right. But I'm not complaining... We're satisfied to be able to finish off the United States first time round. Once is quite enough. What good does it do to annihilate a country twice? We're not a bloodthirsty people.”
Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) said by 1971 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Khrushchev Remembers: The Last Testament (1974)
“My arms are up to the elbows in blood. That is the most terrible thing that lies in my soul.”
Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) said by 1971 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Told to Soviet playwright Nikolay Shatrov, as quoted in William Taubman, Khrushchev: The Man and His Era (New York: W.W. Norton, 2002)
“Comrades! We must abolish the cult of the individual decisively, once and for all.”
Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) said by 1971 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Concerning Stalin's merits, an entirely sufficient number of books, pamphlets and studies had already been written in his lifetime. The role of Stalin in the preparation and execution of the socialist revolution, in the Civil War, and in the fight for the construction of socialism in our country, is universally known.”
Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) said by 1971 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Stalinist Legacy (1984)
“When we analyze the practice of Stalin in regard to the direction of the party and the country, when we pause to consider everything which Stalin perpetrated, we must be convinced that Lenin's fear were justified. The negative characteristics of Stalin, which, in Lenin's time, were only incipient, transformed themselves during the last years into a grave abuse of power by Stalin, which caused untold harm.”
Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) said by 1971 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Stalin acted not through persuasion, explanation and patient cooperation with people, but by imposing his concepts and demanding absolute submission to his opinion. Whoever opposed this concept or tried to prove his viewpoint and the correctness of his position was doomed to removal from the leading collective and to subsequent moral and physical annihilation.”
Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) said by 1971 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We must affirm that the part had fought a serious fight against the Trotskyistes, rightists and bourgeois nationalists, and that it disarmed ideologically all the enemies of Leninism. This ideological fight was carried on successfully, as a result of which the party became strengthened and tempered. Here Stalin played a positive role.”
Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) said by 1971 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When the fascist armies had actually invaded Soviet territory and military operations began, Moscow issued the order that the German fire was not to be returned. Why? It was because Stalin, despite evident facts, thought that the war had not yet started, that this was only a provocative action on the part of several undisciplined sections of the German Army, and that reaction might serve as a reason for the Germans to begin the war.”
Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) said by 1971 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The thought sometimes -- the unpleasant thought sometimes creeps up on me here as to whether perhaps Khrushchev was not invited here to enable you to sort of rub him in your sauce and to show the might and the strength of the United States so as to make him sort of … so as to make him shaky at the knees. If that is so, then if I came -- if it took me about 12 hours to get here, I guess it'll just -- it'll take no more than about 10½ hours to fly back.”
Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) said by 1971 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I see, Mr. President, that you too are not devoid of a sense of anxiety for the fate of the world understanding, and of what war entails. What would a war give you? You are threatening us with war. But you well know that the very least which you would receive in reply would be that you would experience the same consequences as those which you sent us. And that must be clear to us, people invested with authority, trust, and responsibility. We must not succumb to intoxication and petty passions, regardless of whether elections are impending in this or that country, or not impending. These are all transient things, but if indeed war should break out, then it would not be in our power to stop it, for such is the logic of war. I have participated in two wars and know that war ends when it has rolled through cities and villages, everywhere sowing death and destruction. … If people do not show wisdom, then in the final analysis they will come to a clash, like blind moles, and then reciprocal extermination will begin.”
Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) first seen 1962 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Telegram to John F. Kennedy (26 October 1962)
“We and you ought not now to pull on the ends of the rope in which you have tied the knot of war, because the more the two of us pull, the tighter that knot will be tied. And a moment may come when that knot will be tied so tight that even he who tied it will not have the strength to untie it, and then it will be necessary to cut that knot, and what that would mean is not for me to explain to you, because you yourself understand perfectly of what terrible forces our countries dispose. Consequently, if there is no intention to tighten that knot and thereby to doom the world to the catastrophe of thermonuclear war, then let us not only relax the forces pulling on the ends of the rope, let us take measures to untie that knot. We are ready for this.”
Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) first seen 1962 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Telegram to John F. Kennedy (26 October 1962)
“Stalin originated the concept of 'enemy of the people'. This term automatically rendered it unnecessary that the ideological errors of a man or men engaged in a controversy be proven; this term made possible the usage of the most cruel repression, violating all norms of revolutionary legality, against anyone who in any way disagreed with Stalin, against those who were only suspected of hostile intent, against those who had bad reputations. This concept 'enemy of the people' actually eliminated the possibility of any kind of ideological fight or the making of one's views known on this or that issue, even those of a practical character. In the main, and in actuality, the only proof of guilt used, against all norms of current legal science, was the 'confession' of the accused himself.”
Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) said by 1971 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source