"Life is not an easy matter... You cannot live through it without falling into a state of despair and cynicism unless you have an ideal to cling to."

"The power of the Soviets is the power of the workers and peasants."

"Art, like science, does not seek to impose its will on life, but rather to reflect it, to understand it, and to reveal its inner laws."

"If you cannot convince a Fascist, acquaint his head with the pavement."

"The bureaucracy, which by its very nature is conservative, is the principal obstacle to social progress."