---
title: "3 Autocracy Quotes By Orlando Figes"
description: "3 Autocracy quotes by Orlando Figes. Plus more from Orlando Figes and more Autocracy sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/539/orlando-figes-19791_autocracy_the-only-way-they-argued-to-prevent-a-re_552973.png"
---

> [“The only way, they argued, to prevent a revolution was to rule Russia with an iron hand. This meant defending the autocratic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-figes/the-only-way-they-argued-to-prevent-a-revolution-was-to-rule-russia/)

[Orlando Figes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-figes/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/539/orlando-figes-19791_autocracy_the-only-way-they-argued-to-prevent-a-re_552973.png)

> [“To the less privileged it was this arbitrariness that made the regime's power feel so oppressive. There were no clear principles or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-figes/to-the-less-privileged-it-was-this-arbitrariness-that-made-the-regime/)

[Orlando Figes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-figes/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52e/orlando-figes-19791_autocracy_to-the-less-privileged-it-was-this-arbit_1622313.png)

> [“In the mind of the ordinary peasant the Tsar was not just a kingly ruler but a god on earth. He thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-figes/in-the-mind-of-the-ordinary-peasant-the-tsar-was-not-just-a-kingly/)

[Orlando Figes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-figes/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/078/orlando-figes-19791_autocracy_in-the-mind-of-the-ordinary-peasant-the_3186915.jpg)

## More by Orlando Figes

> [On the news that the Tsar had sent the troops icons to boost their morals, General Dragomirov quipped: 'The Japanese are beating us with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-figes/on-the-news-that-the-tsar-had-sent-the-troops-icons-to-boost-their/)

[Orlando Figes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-figes/)

> [“For the Romanov regime fell under the weight of its own internal contradictions. It was not overthrown.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-figes/for-the-romanov-regime-fell-under-the-weight-of-its-own-internal/)

[Orlando Figes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-figes/)

> [“The only way, they argued, to prevent a revolution was to rule Russia with an iron hand. This meant defending the autocratic principle, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-figes/the-only-way-they-argued-to-prevent-a-revolution-was-to-rule-russia/)

[Orlando Figes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-figes/)

> [“This was a cruelty made by history. Long after serfdom had been abolished the land captains exercised their right to flog the peasants for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-figes/this-was-a-cruelty-made-by-history-long-after-serfdom-had-been/)

[Orlando Figes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-figes/)

> [“Whereas in Europe new ideas were forced to compete against other doctrines and attitudes, with the results that people tended towards healthy skepticism about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-figes/whereas-in-europe-new-ideas-were-forced-to-compete-against-other/)

[Orlando Figes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-figes/)

> [Time and time again, the obstinate refusal of the tsarist regime to concede reforms turned what should have been a political problem into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-figes/time-and-time-again-the-obstinate-refusal-of-the-tsarist-regime-to/)

[Orlando Figes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-figes/)

> [The link between literacy and revolutions is a well-known historical phenomenon. The three great revolutions of modern European history -- the English, the French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-figes/the-link-between-literacy-and-revolutions-is-a-well-known-historical/)

[Orlando Figes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-figes/)

> [“For all too many of these high-born revolutionaries, the main attraction of 'the cause' lay not so much in the satisfaction which they might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-figes/for-all-too-many-of-these-high-born-revolutionaries-the-main/)

[Orlando Figes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-figes/)

> [Their notion of training was to march the men up and down in parades and reviews: these were nice to look at and gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-figes/their-notion-of-training-was-to-march-the-men-up-and-down-in-parades/)

[Orlando Figes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-figes/)

> [“Gorky called for the building of a monument to the young martyr, who, the writer said, had ‘understood that a relative by blood may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-figes/gorky-called-for-the-building-of-a-monument-to-the-young-martyr-who/)

[Orlando Figes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-figes/)

> [“As in 1917, the drift towards authoritarian government under Putin was enabled by the weakness of the middle classes and public institutions in post-Soviet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-figes/as-in-1917-the-drift-towards-authoritarian-government-under-putin-was/)

[Orlando Figes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-figes/)

> [It was ironic but somehow fitting that the 1905 Revolution should have been started by an organisation dreamed up by the tsarist regime itself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-figes/it-was-ironic-but-somehow-fitting-that-the-1905-revolution-should/)

[Orlando Figes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-figes/)

> [“Convinced that their own ideas were the key to the future of the world, that the fate of humanity rested on the outcome of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-figes/convinced-that-their-own-ideas-were-the-key-to-the-future-of-the/)

[Orlando Figes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-figes/)

> [“For the majority of ordinary Russians, especially for those of a certain age who identified themselves as ‘Soviet’, the 1990s were little short of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-figes/for-the-majority-of-ordinary-russians-especially-for-those-of-a/)

[Orlando Figes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-figes/)

> [“The worst violence was reserved for the Jews. There were 690 documented pogroms -- with over 3,000 reported murders -- during the two weeks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-figes/the-worst-violence-was-reserved-for-the-jews-there-were-690/)

[Orlando Figes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-figes/)

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