I Refuse To See Literature As Amusement,

Nowhere On The Planet, Nowhere In History, Was There A Regime More Vicious, More Bloodthirsty, And At The Same Time More Cunning Than The Bolshevik, The Self-styled Soviet Regime.

Own Only What You Can Always Carry With You: Know Languages, Know Countries, Know People. Let Your Memory Be Your Travel Bag.

What Is An Optimist? The Man Who Says, "it's Worse Everywhere Else. We're Better Off Than The Rest Of The World. We've Been Lucky." He Is Happy With Things As They Are And He Doesn't Torment Himself. What Is A Pessimist? The Man Who Says, "things Are Fine Everywhere But Here. Everyone Else Is Better Off Than We Are. We're The Only Ones Who've Had A Bad Break." He Torments Himself Continually.

Woe To That Nation Whose Literature Is Disturbed By The Intervention Of Power. Because That Is Not Just A Violation Against "freedom Of Print," It Is The Closing Down Of The Heart Of The Nation, A Slashing To Pieces Of Its Memory. The Nation Ceases To Be Mindful Of Itself, It Is Deprived Of Its Spiritual Unity, And Despite A Supposedly Common Language, Compatriots Suddenly Cease To Understand One Another.

When Russia Started To Regain Some Of Its Strength As An Economy And As A State, The West's Reaction - Perhaps A Subconscious One, Based On Erstwhile Fears - Was Panic.