"Whoever does not miss the Soviet Union has no heart. Whoever wants it back has no brain."

"History proves that all dictatorships, all authoritarian forms of government are transient. Only democratic systems are not transient. Whatever the shortcomings, mankind has not devised anything super…"

"I don't mind if people call me a dictator. It's just a word."

"I'd rather not deal with such questions, because anyway it's like shearing a pig – lots of screams but little wool."

"If you don't like something, don't do it. If you do it, don't complain."