Vladimir Sorokin Quotes

Nothing has changed in Russia since Ivan the Terrible when it comes to the divide between the people and the state. The state demands a sacred willingness to make sacrifices from the people.

Vladimir Sorokin

Sacrifice, Russia, People

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As a child I perceived violence as a sort of natural law. In the totalitarian Soviet Union, oppression held everything together. It was the sinister energy of our country.

Vladimir Sorokin

Country, Children, Law

"'Russia Is Slipping Back into an Authoritarian Empire'". Interview with Martin Doerry and Matthias Schepp, www.spiegel.de. February 02, 2007.

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Germans, Frenchmen and Englishmen can say of themselves: "I am the state." I cannot say that. In Russia only the people in the Kremlin can say that. All other citizens are nothing more than human material with which they can do all kinds of things.

Vladimir Sorokin

Russia, People, Citizens

Source: www.spiegel.de

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The word "people" is unpleasant to me. The phrase "Soviet people" was drummed into us from childhood on. I love concrete people, enlightened people who live conscious lives and do not simply sit there and vegetate. To love the people you have to be the general secretary of the Communist Party or an absolute dictator.

Vladimir Sorokin

Party, People, Childhood

"Russia Is Slipping Back into an Authoritarian Empire". Interview with Martin Doerry and Matthias Schepp, www.spiegel.de. February 2, 2007.

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The West should be even more vocal in insisting that the Russians respect human rights.

Vladimir Sorokin

Rights, West, Should

"Russia Is Slipping Back into an Authoritarian Empire". Interview with Martin Doerry and Matthias Schepp, www.spiegel.de. February 2, 2007.

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Orthodox churches, autocracy and national traditions are supposed to form a new national ideology in Russia. This would mean that Russia would be overtaken by its past, and our past would be our future.

Vladimir Sorokin

Mean, Past, Russia

Source: www.spiegel.de

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I'm not a prophet or a teacher, I just ask questions. I don't think a writer should be a teacher, but should know how to pose the questions and explain the problems.

Vladimir Sorokin

Teacher, Thinking, Problem

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The Russian writer Vladimir Nabokov once said: In a Democracy, portraits of a nation's leader should never exceed the size of a postage stamp. That won't happen so quickly in Russia.

Vladimir Sorokin

Russia, Leader, Democracy

"Russia Is Slipping Back into an Authoritarian Empire". Interview with Martin Doerry and Matthias Schepp, www.spiegel.de. February 2, 2007.

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The Khodorkovsky case is typical of the "oprichnina" - the system of oppression.

Vladimir Sorokin

Typical, Oppression, Cases

Source: www.spiegel.de

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Everyone in Russia must awaken the citizen within himself.

Vladimir Sorokin

Russia, Citizens

Source: www.spiegel.de

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The citizen lives in each of us. In the days of Brezhnev, Andropov, Gorbachev and Yeltsin, I was constantly trying to suppress the responsible citizen in me. I told myself that I was, after all, an artist.

Vladimir Sorokin

Artist, Trying, Citizens

"'Russia Is Slipping Back into an Authoritarian Empire'". Interview with Martin Doerry and Matthias Schepp, www.spiegel.de. February 02, 2007.

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In Russia one can be as pure as can be and still lose everything in a flash and end up in prison.

Vladimir Sorokin

Russia, Prison, Ends

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I am always surprised when I watch the weather report on German television. First they show the map of Europe and then the camera moves to the right. Then comes Kiev, then Moscow and then everything stops. This seems to be the West's view of us - of a wild Russia that begins past Moscow, a place one prefers not to see. This is a big mistake. The West must pay closer attention.

Vladimir Sorokin

Mistake, Moving, Past

Source: www.spiegel.de

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My television teaches me that everything was wonderful in the Soviet Union. According to the programs I watch, the KGB and apparatchiks were angels, and the Stalin era was so festive that the heroes of the day must still be celebrated today.

Vladimir Sorokin

Hero, Angel, Kgb

"Russia Is Slipping Back into an Authoritarian Empire". Interview with Martin Doerry and Matthias Schepp, www.spiegel.de. February 2, 2007.

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In Russia whenever you encounter a minor official, he lets you know that he is above you and that you depend on him. It is reflected in the superpower mentality that nourishes the Kremlin. An empire always demands sacrifices from its people.

Vladimir Sorokin

Sacrifice, Russia, People

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In Russia only those who are loyal to the people in power can become wealthy.

Vladimir Sorokin

Russia, People, Loyal

"SPIEGEL Interview with Author Vladimir Sorokin". www.spiegel.de. February 02, 2007.

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As a storyteller I was influenced by the Moscow underground, where it was common to be apolitical.

Vladimir Sorokin

Moscow, Common, Storyteller

"'Russia Is Slipping Back into an Authoritarian Empire'". Interview with Martin Doerry and Matthias Schepp, www.spiegel.de. February 02, 2007.

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In Russia no one is surprised when an official accepts a bribe while at the same time portraying the state as some sacred entity to which the bourgeois should pay homage. This all sounds absurd. But for Russians it is completely normal.

Vladimir Sorokin

Russia, Normal, Sound

"Russia Is Slipping Back into an Authoritarian Empire". Interview with Martin Doerry and Matthias Schepp, www.spiegel.de. February 2, 2007.

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The worst thing that can happen to Russia is indifference in the West - that is, if it were interested in nothing but oil and gas.

Vladimir Sorokin

Russia, Oil, West

Source: www.spiegel.de

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Putin likes to quote a sentence from Czar Alexander III, who said that Russian has only two allies - the army and the navy. As a citizen, this makes me sit up and take notice. This is a concept of self-imposed isolation, a defense strategy that sees Russia surrounded by enemies.

Vladimir Sorokin

Army, Two, Russia

"Russia Is Slipping Back into an Authoritarian Empire". Interview with Martin Doerry and Matthias Schepp, www.spiegel.de. February 2, 2007.

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I have Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin to thank that a Russian writer can not only write anything he wants, but also publish it.

Vladimir Sorokin

Writing, Want, Gorbachev

"'Russia Is Slipping Back into an Authoritarian Empire'". Interview with Martin Doerry and Matthias Schepp, www.spiegel.de. February 02, 2007.

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In Russia there are special people who are permitted to do anything. They are the sacrificial priests of power. Anyone who is not a member of this group has no clout with the state.

Vladimir Sorokin

Russia, Special People, Groups

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I ask myself whether Russia is moving in the direction of democracy. I don't believe it is! Bit by bit, Russia is slipping back into an authoritarian empire.

Vladimir Sorokin

Believe, Moving, Russia

"Russia Is Slipping Back into an Authoritarian Empire". Interview with Martin Doerry and Matthias Schepp, www.spiegel.de. February 2, 2007.

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The bureaucracy has grown such powerful roots in Russia, and corruption is so widespread, that people from opposition have no interest in changing anything.

Vladimir Sorokin

Powerful, Russia, Roots

Source: www.spiegel.de

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When I turn on the TV in Russia I see a general calmly claiming that our missiles are ahead of the latest American models by three five-year plans. It's a nightmare. We are creating a concept of the enemy, just as they did in the Soviet era. This is a giant step backward.

Vladimir Sorokin

Creating, Russia, Years

Source: www.spiegel.de

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Born: August 7, 1955
Occupation: Writer
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