The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either - but right through every human heart - and through all human hearts. This line shifts. Inside us, it oscillates with the years. And even within hearts overwhelmed by evil, one small bridgehead of good is retained.

The revolution is an amalgam of former Party functionaries, quasi- democrats, KGB officers, and black-market wheeler-dealers, who are standing in power now and have represented a dirty hybrid unseen in world history

To stand up for truth is nothing. For truth, you must sit in jail.

A meek fellow ... is a real godsend in any gang.

Of course, my views developed in the course of time. But I have always believed in what I did and never acted against my conscience.

One should never direct people towards happiness, because happiness too is an idol of the market-place. One should direct them towards mutual affection. A beast gnawing at its prey can be happy too, but only human beings can feel affection for each other, and this is the highest achievement they can aspire to.

First would be the literary side, then the spiritual and philosophical. The political side is required principally because of the necessity of the current Russian position.