Mr. Putin presents himself as a czar - and like any czar, he fears revolution above all else. — Simon Sebag Montefiore Copy Share Image
In the new Georgia, Stalin is no longer Georgian. He's a Russian emperor. — Simon Sebag Montefiore Copy Share Image
A reforming liberal leader in Russia is the Holy Grail of Kremlinology, but the search for one is as misguided and hopeless… — Simon Sebag Montefiore Copy Share Image
The West is pathetically naive about Russian reformers. We long to believe they are real liberals, but no liberal will ever rule… — Simon Sebag Montefiore Copy Share Image
There are few words in Russian for the Western concept of 'law,' but there are legions of words for connections, helping people… — Simon Sebag Montefiore Copy Share Image
Putin regards Stalin as a great tsar; he is a great tsar. Asked who the worst tsars were, he said Nicholas II… — Simon Sebag Montefiore Copy Share Image
Nicholas I has been called 'Genghis Khan with a telegraph.' Stalin was 'Genghis Khan with a telephone.' But Mr. Putin is not… — Simon Sebag Montefiore Copy Share Image
As colonial puppeteer and successful restorer of Russia as imperial superpower, Mr. Putin is Stalin's consummate heir. — Simon Sebag Montefiore Copy Share Image
Russia is so feudal in its system of patronage and reward that it is virtually impossible for a leader to hand over… — Simon Sebag Montefiore Copy Share Image
No one can take away the experience of Yeltsin's freedoms, but Russian democracy will never follow Western models: other authoritarian 'controlled democracies'… — Simon Sebag Montefiore Copy Share Image
There is a view of Russian exceptionalism, that they are a unique civilisation, a view right since Ivan the Terrible that Russia… — Simon Sebag Montefiore Copy Share Image
It was always presumptuous to expect Russia, an ancient nation-state and proud empire of distinct culture with a tradition of autocracy, to… — Simon Sebag Montefiore Copy Share Image
Trump wants to be the first American tsar. With his hero worship of Putin, his admiration for the apparent omnipotence of the… — Simon Sebag Montefiore Copy Share Image
Russia's first major intervention began in 1768, when Catherine the Great went to war with the Ottomans, and Count Alexei Orlov, the… — Simon Sebag Montefiore Copy Share Image
President Yeltsin's instincts were decent: he encouraged the marketplace, the press flourished, and everything started to open - even the KGB archives.… — Simon Sebag Montefiore Copy Share Image
Trump wants to be the first American tsar. With his hero worship of Putin, his admiration for the apparent omnipotence of the Kremlin, schoolboyish… — Simon Sebag Montefiore Copy Share
“History is little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind." --- Edward Gibbon” — Simon Sebag Montefiore Copy Share
Every Russian emperor from Peter the Great to Stalin and Putin knows a leader and his security agencies must never be parted. His safety… — Simon Sebag Montefiore Copy Share
“Sex fills a few hours of our lives yet those precious minutes count for more than months and years” — Simon Sebag Montefiore Copy Share
“Iraq was already in the grip of a bloody insurgency against British rule. Churchill therefore called a conference in Cairo to hand over a… — Simon Sebag Montefiore Copy Share
I don't think Jerusalem should be controlled 100% by religious people of any denomination, sect, or religion - even my own. — Simon Sebag Montefiore Copy Share
The memoirs of the Grand Duchess Olga are an entertaining record for anyone interested in the imperial family's home life during the last years… — Simon Sebag Montefiore Copy Share
I am a passionate nonfinisher. Life is too short, and there are too many great books to read, so if I lose interest or… — Simon Sebag Montefiore Copy Share
There is a view of Russian exceptionalism, that they are a unique civilisation, a view right since Ivan the Terrible that Russia is a… — Simon Sebag Montefiore Copy Share
The political lives of tyrants play out human affairs with a special intensity: the death of a democratic leader long after his retirement is… — Simon Sebag Montefiore Copy Share
Mr. Putin presents himself as a czar - and like any czar, he fears revolution above all else. — Simon Sebag Montefiore Copy Share
'Daddy used to be a Georgian,' Stalin's son, Vasily, once said. Actually, the dictator didn't truly become Russian; he remained Georgian culturally. Yet he… — Simon Sebag Montefiore Copy Share
“Once in power, Stalin’s campaign to succeed Lenin required a legitimate heroic career which he did not possess because of his experience in what… — Simon Sebag Montefiore Copy Share
