--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We expected that people were just waiting…" description: "\"We expected that people were just waiting for the collapse of the Soviet Union, or at least for its retreat, and they were going to be full of initiati..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/255/andrzej-wajda-19058_areas_we-expected-that-people-were-just-waitin_1751398.png" --- # We expected that people were just waiting for the collapse… ![“We expected that people were just waiting for the collapse of the Soviet Union, or at least for its retreat, and they were going to be full of initiative in all areas of life - in culture, in economy and in politics.” quote by Andrzej Wajda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/255/andrzej-wajda-19058_areas_we-expected-that-people-were-just-waitin_1751398.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/255/andrzej-wajda-19058_areas_we-expected-that-people-were-just-waitin_1751398.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/255/andrzej-wajda-19058_areas_we-expected-that-people-were-just-waitin_1751398.png) > “We expected that people were just waiting for the collapse of the Soviet Union, or at least for its retreat, and they were going to be full of initiative in all areas of life - in culture, in economy and in politics.” [Andrzej Wajda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-wajda/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People anticipated the Soviet Union's fall and expected a surge of initiative across culture, economy, and politics. **In simple terms:** They expected a post‑Soviet boom of activity. Key Takeaway Recognize that expectations may not match reality. Themes politics culture economy expectations history Mood reflective analytical Type historical political When to use this quote - Urban planning - policy making - civic engagement - economic development Key Concepts Post‑Soviet transition social optimism political change Questions to Reflect On - How do societies sustain momentum after major political shifts? - What factors hinder anticipated cultural renewal? A Different Perspective The collapse may not automatically generate initiative; structural inertia can persist. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Collapse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collapse/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Economy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economy/) [Initiative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/initiative/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Soviet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soviet/) [Soviet union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soviet-union/) [Unions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unions/) ## Related quotes > [“From everything that I'd read, End Timers were waiting for the collapse of civilization the way fans of the Twilight series awaited the trailer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-mcclure/from-everything-that-i-d-read-end-timers-were-waiting-for-the/) [Wendy McClure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-mcclure/) > [People in Russia say that those who do not regret the collapse of the Soviet Union have no heart, and those that do regret…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/people-in-russia-say-that-those-who-do-not-regret-the-collapse-of-the/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [The countries that have risen and separated out as a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union are, on the whole, following freer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/the-countries-that-have-risen-and-separated-out-as-a-result-of-the/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [“The Soviet response was silence, followed by bellicose denial, followed by efforts to derail the international investigation. It was eight years after the collapse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-soviet-response-was-silence-followed-by-bellicose-denial-followed/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think it's more difficult now to write a spy thriller with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Many authors have tried, but few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-demille/i-think-it-s-more-difficult-now-to-write-a-spy-thriller-with-the/) [Nelson DeMille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-demille/) > [Above all, we should acknowledge that the collapse of the Soviet Union was a major geopolitical disaster of the century. As for the Russian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/above-all-we-should-acknowledge-that-the-collapse-of-the-soviet-union/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [We know that the governments in most of the successor states formed after the collapse of the Soviet Union are replaced through a process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/we-know-that-the-governments-in-most-of-the-successor-states-formed/) [Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/) > [When you're a part of any protected class, whether it is being a woman, a person of color, a part of the LGBTQ community,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yara-shahidi/when-you-re-a-part-of-any-protected-class-whether-it-is-being-a-woman/) [Yara Shahidi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yara-shahidi/) > [“...She expected people to accept her for who she was. But she never really accepted herself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-kitt/she-expected-people-to-accept-her-for-who-she-was-but-she-never/) Sandra Kitt > [If I hit a game-winning shot, right, and I run back down the court and shake my teammates hands, it's because I expected to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-dinwiddie/if-i-hit-a-game-winning-shot-right-and-i-run-back-down-the-court-and/) [Spencer Dinwiddie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-dinwiddie/) > [“We need our people and families to unite….to question with boldness without wavering and stand tall. After all, isn’t that what our Founding Fathers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-post-askin/we-need-our-people-and-families-to-unite-to-question-with-boldness/) [Barbara Post-Askin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-post-askin/) > [“She expected from other people the same opinions and feeling as her own, and she judged their motives by the immediate effect of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/she-expected-from-other-people-the-same-opinions-and-feeling-as-her/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [When 'Lost' was over, we expected that there'd be some people who'd really like it and other people who wouldn't. The Emmy nominations are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlton-cuse/when-lost-was-over-we-expected-that-there-d-be-some-people-who-d/) [Carlton Cuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlton-cuse/) > [“He expected too much from people, that was the problem, Ethan thought. He expected too much from life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frasier/he-expected-too-much-from-people-that-was-the-problem-ethan-thought/) [Anne Frasier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frasier/) > [The collapse of the Soviet bloc ended the massive subsidies that had kept the Cuban economy afloat. The once-vaunted education and health care systems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-gjelten/the-collapse-of-the-soviet-bloc-ended-the-massive-subsidies-that-had/) [Tom Gjelten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-gjelten/) ## More by Andrzej Wajda > [On the one hand, we had great filmic spectacles that brought in big audiences, adults as well as primary and secondary school students. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-wajda/on-the-one-hand-we-had-great-filmic-spectacles-that-brought-in-big/) [Andrzej Wajda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-wajda/) > [In the first years after 1989, films were partly financed from the state's budget as well as by public television. Still, except for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-wajda/in-the-first-years-after-1989-films-were-partly-financed-from-the/) [Andrzej Wajda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-wajda/) > [A novelty in Polish filmmaking was that it was possible to find funds for a big production. However, at the same time, the state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-wajda/a-novelty-in-polish-filmmaking-was-that-it-was-possible-to-find-funds/) [Andrzej Wajda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-wajda/) > [By dint of that concern and because that society was willing to examine its particular reality, Solidarity could come into existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-wajda/by-dint-of-that-concern-and-because-that-society-was-willing-to/) [Andrzej Wajda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-wajda/) > [One might have thought that the most significant change in the film industry that would come about with a transition from the communist economy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-wajda/one-might-have-thought-that-the-most-significant-change-in-the-film/) [Andrzej Wajda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-wajda/) > [It turned out that the country was helpless in the face of a new reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-wajda/it-turned-out-that-the-country-was-helpless-in-the-face-of-a-new/) [Andrzej Wajda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-wajda/) > [Previously the same Polish audiences would have been pressured into seeing cinema made for adults, films made by us about those spheres of life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-wajda/previously-the-same-polish-audiences-would-have-been-pressured-into/) [Andrzej Wajda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-wajda/) > [The difficulty with the present state of affairs is that there is no legislation on the sources of funding for the Polish film industry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-wajda/the-difficulty-with-the-present-state-of-affairs-is-that-there-is-no/) [Andrzej Wajda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-wajda/) > [Television theatre, as is implied in its name, should rely on adaptations of scripts written for the theatre.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-wajda/television-theatre-as-is-implied-in-its-name-should-rely-on/) [Andrzej Wajda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-wajda/) > [When a film is created, it is created in a language, which is not only about words, but also the way that very language…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-wajda/when-a-film-is-created-it-is-created-in-a-language-which-is-not-only/) [Andrzej Wajda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-wajda/) > [However, that old mode of Polish filmmaking virtually disappeared.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-wajda/however-that-old-mode-of-polish-filmmaking-virtually-disappeared/) [Andrzej Wajda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-wajda/) > [Eventually, the state's funding covered only the stages leading to presenting a film project to potential funding bodies. It was enough to produce a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-wajda/eventually-the-state-s-funding-covered-only-the-stages-leading-to/) [Andrzej Wajda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-wajda/) > [Suddenly, the screens were dominated by American entertainment to the extent of something like 95 percent. As a result, audiences turned away from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-wajda/suddenly-the-screens-were-dominated-by-american-entertainment-to-the/) [Andrzej Wajda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-wajda/) > [Nevertheless, in the theatre, and in the cinema, the contemporary reality of Poland has been represented only to a minuscule degree in the last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-wajda/nevertheless-in-the-theatre-and-in-the-cinema-the-contemporary/) [Andrzej Wajda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-wajda/) > [There is no filmmaking legislation because distributors are not interested in sharing their money with the film industry - for instance, by giving a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-wajda/there-is-no-filmmaking-legislation-because-distributors-are-not/) [Andrzej Wajda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-wajda/) [Explore all 33 Andrzej Wajda quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-wajda/) ## More Areas quotes > [The very purpose for being in this body, for every one of us, is to live and rejoice in that virgin area, that untouched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/the-very-purpose-for-being-in-this-body-for-every-one-of-us-is-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [I am somewhat influenced by the years that I've spent trying to actually get things done, whether it was reforming education in Arkansas or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-am-somewhat-influenced-by-the-years-that-i-ve-spent-trying-to/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [The earliest language was body language and, since this language is the language of questions, if we limit the questions, and if we only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/the-earliest-language-was-body-language-and-since-this-language-is/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [This ball was so crowded that it took me - a trained professional journalist with vast experience in this area - forty five minutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/this-ball-was-so-crowded-that-it-took-me-a-trained-professional/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [People don't want to believe that technology is broken. Pharmaceuticals, robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology - all these areas where the progress has been a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/people-don-t-want-to-believe-that-technology-is-broken/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [It's absolutely fun to walk around and have people respect you. When Michael Jackson did Thriller, I was in the park one day, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-ross/it-s-absolutely-fun-to-walk-around-and-have-people-respect-you-when/) [Rick Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-ross/) > [Software will get to be somewhat more mature, ah, but it will never be as predictable as most areas of engineering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/software-will-get-to-be-somewhat-more-mature-ah-but-it-will-never-be/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [If I were entering adulthood now instead of in the environment of fifty years ago, I would choose a career that kept me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/if-i-were-entering-adulthood-now-instead-of-in-the-environment-of/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [The discrepancy between what actually happened and the version of what happened provided by sources is an enormous gray area.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-jay-epstein/the-discrepancy-between-what-actually-happened-and-the-version-of/) [Edward Jay Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-jay-epstein/) > [Louisville is a place with no labels. It’s not the South, it’s not Chicago, and you don’t think of it as you think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-james/louisville-is-a-place-with-no-labels-it-s-not-the-south-it-s-not/) [Jim James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-james/) > [It turns out that this part of the brain is one of the first areas that's attacked by Alzheimer's disease. So we can now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-keefe/it-turns-out-that-this-part-of-the-brain-is-one-of-the-first-areas/) [John O'Keefe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-keefe/) > [Engaging the city around us and ministering to its needs reveal to us the remaining bastions of sin in our lives, the areas we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-chandler/engaging-the-city-around-us-and-ministering-to-its-needs-reveal-to-us/) [Matt Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-chandler/) > [I believe it is a mistake to isolate arms control from other areas of policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/i-believe-it-is-a-mistake-to-isolate-arms-control-from-other-areas-of/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) > [Well, the U.N. Security Council resolution 1973 is very clear. It says all necessary measures to be taken to protect civilians and civilian areas.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-jackson/well-the-u-n-security-council-resolution-1973-is-very-clear-it-says/) [Mike Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-jackson/) > [When in one area of the world the standard of living and the size of the middle class increases, it is going to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-lagarde/when-in-one-area-of-the-world-the-standard-of-living-and-the-size-of/) [Christine Lagarde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-lagarde/) Browse all 2,612 Areas quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We expected that people were just waiting for the collapse of the Soviet Union, or at least for its retreat, and they were going to be full of initiative in all areas of life - in culture, in economy and in politics.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Andrzej Wajda" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-wajda/we-expected-that-people-were-just-waiting-for-the-collapse-of-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Areas" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-wajda/we-expected-that-people-were-just-waiting-for-the-collapse-of-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/255/andrzej-wajda-19058_areas_we-expected-that-people-were-just-waitin_1751398.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/255/andrzej-wajda-19058_areas_we-expected-that-people-were-just-waitin_1751398.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/255/andrzej-wajda-19058_areas_we-expected-that-people-were-just-waitin_1751398.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We expected that people were just waiting for the collapse of the Soviet Union, or at least for its retreat…” — Andrzej Wajda", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Andrzej Wajda", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-wajda/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We expected that people were just...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-wajda/we-expected-that-people-were-just-waiting-for-the-collapse-of-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-wajda/we-expected-that-people-were-just-waiting-for-the-collapse-of-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```