Ideology is a specious way of relating to the world. It offers human beings the illusion of an identity, of dignity, and of morality while making it easier for them to part with them.

Modern man must descend the spiral of his own absurdity to the lowest point; only then can he look beyond it. It is obviously impossible to get around it, jump over it, or simply avoid it.

You can't spend your whole life criticizing something and then, when you have the chance to do it better, refuse to go near it.

We live in the postmodern world, where everything is possible and almost nothing is certain.

True enough, the country is calm. Calm as a morgue or a grave, would you not say?

The dissident does not operate in the realm of genuine power at all. He is not seeking power. He has no desire for office and does not gather votes. He does not attempt to charm the public, he offers nothing and promises nothing. He can offer, if anything, only his own skin - and he offers it solely because he has no other way of affirming the truth he stands for. His actions simply articulate his dignity as a citizen, regardless of the cost.

Truth is not merely what we are thinking, but also why, to whom and under what circumstances we say it.