Le Mage du Kremlin Quotes

“Politics has a single purpose: to respond to man's terrors. That's why, when the state is no longer able to protect its citizens from fear, the very basis of its existence is called into question.”
― Giuliano da Empoli, Le Mage du Kremlin

“We know neither what's good for us nor what's bad. But we're free to decide on the meaning of the things that do happen. And that's our one and only strength.”
― Giuliano da Empoli, The Wizard of the Kremlin

“Il y a une belle différence entre vivre et chercher à ne pas mourir.”
― Giuliano da Empoli, Le Mage du Kremlin

“Il n'y a rien de plus sage que de miser sur la folie des hommes.”
― Giuliano da Empoli, Le Mage du Kremlin

“(...) Vous ne savez pas de quoi vous parlez, professeur : la politique est infiniment plus violence.
- Mais ce n'est pas un jeu.
- Pour les amateurs, ce n'est pas un jeu. En revanche, croyez-moi, pour les professionnels, c'est le seul jeu qui mérite véritablement d'être joué.”
― Giuliano da Empoli, Le Mage du Kremlin

“You can't control the things that happen [...] Believe me, the only thing you can control is the way you interpret events. If you start from the idea that it's not things, but the judgments we make about them that make us suffer, then you can aspire to take control of your life.”
― Giuliano da Empoli, Le Mage du Kremlin

“All is permitted in Paradise, except curiosity.”
― Giuliano da Empoli, Le Mage du Kremlin

“Back home, money is essential; it is the foundation of everything. Here, I assure you, it is not so. In Russia only privilege counts—proximity to power…”
― Giuliano da Empoli, Le Mage du Kremlin

“En Russie, me disais-je, tout se passe en général très bien, mais quand les choses vont mal, elles vont vraiment très mal. A Paris, la pire chose qui puisse vous arriver c'est un restaurant surestimé, le regard méprisant d'une jolie fille, une amende. A Moscou, la gamme des expériences désagréables est considérablement plus vaste.”
― Giuliano da Empoli, Le Mage du Kremlin

“I think his main objective was to never wake up with the secret police banging on his door. You have no idea how much talent has been sacrificed in Russia on the altar of this one goal.”
― Giuliano da Empoli, The Wizard of the Kremlin

“No one knows anything in Russia, and either you cope or you leave.”
― Giuliano da Empoli, The Wizard of the Kremlin

“Il y aura toujours des déçus, des frustrés, des perdants, à chaque époque et sous n'importe quel régime.”
― Giuliano da Empoli, Le Mage du Kremlin

“Il n'y a pas de dictateur plus sanguinaire que le peuple.”
― Giuliano da Empoli, Le Mage du Kremlin

“Créeme, lo único que puedes controlar es tu manera de interpretar los acontecimientos. Si partes de la idea de que no son las cosas sino el juicio que nos hacemos de ellas lo que nos hace sufrir, entonces puedes aspirar a tomar las riendas de tu vida. Si no, estás condenado a matar moscas a cañonazos».”
― Giuliano da Empoli, El mago del Kremlin

“[…] even if you don't care about power, power cares about you.”
― Giuliano da Empoli, Le Mage du Kremlin

“A commission of inspectors visits an insane asylum. The patients greet them with chants of "How good it is to live on Soviet soil!
But the commission notices that one man remains silent.
-Why aren't you singing? "
-I'm the nurse, I'm not crazy!”
― Giuliano da Empoli, Le Mage du Kremlin

“Lenin's injunction "it is necessary to dream" is applied to the letter, but the only dream allowed is Stalin's; all others must be suppressed.”
― Giuliano da Empoli, Le Mage du Kremlin

“Power is like the sun and death, it can't look itself in the face. Especially in Russia.”
― Giuliano da Empoli, Le Mage du Kremlin

“Passions make man live, wisdom only makes him last.”
― Giuliano da Empoli, Le Mage du Kremlin

“But intelligence protects against nothing, not even stupidity.”
― Giuliano da Empoli, Le Mage du Kremlin

“I felt so tired, and yet I hadn't done anything. I had so many ideas that any action seemed ridiculous.”
― Giuliano da Empoli, Le Mage du Kremlin

“But I know I have to die, and can I tell you something? I'm ready, much more than I thought I'd be.”
― Giuliano da Empoli, Le Mage du Kremlin

“de un encuentro oficial, se lo veía reír, algo muy raro en Rusia, donde una simple sonrisa es considerada como una señal de idiotez. En realidad, daba”
― Giuliano da Empoli, El mago del Kremlin

“«Los buenos para nada y los dispuestos a todo. Me pregunto a cuál de esas categorías perteneces, Kolia.»”
― Giuliano da Empoli, El mago del Kremlin

“« Ce qui reste immobile, Vadia. Au milieu de tous les changements, nous ne sommes pas entraînés à distinguer les choses qui restent les mêmes. Et c’est un grand problème parce que, quand on y pense, les choses qui ne changent pas sont presque toujours les plus importantes. »”
― Giuliano da Empoli, Le Mage du Kremlin

“Passion makes a man live, wisdom only makes him last.”
― Giuliano da Empoli, The Wizard of the Kremlin

“the Kremlin doesn’t offer happiness, but it does make it impossible to be happy”
― Giuliano da Empoli, The Wizard of the Kremlin

“The first rule of power is to forge ahead with your mistakes, never to show the slightest crack in the wall of authority.”
― Giuliano da Empoli, The Wizard of the Kremlin

“—But politics is not a game, he said. —Not for amateurs, it’s not a game. But for professionals, believe me, it’s the only game worth playing.”
― Giuliano da Empoli, The Wizard of the Kremlin

“There’s nothing worse than the virus of politics. Especially when it infects someone without the antibodies to combat it.”
― Giuliano da Empoli, The Wizard of the Kremlin