--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The U.S.S.R. was a totalitarian state in…" description: "\"The U.S.S.R. was a totalitarian state in which judges and prosecutors were controlled by the ruling party. The result was injustice, oppression and cor..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/anne-applebaum-2544_corruption_the-u-s-s-r-was-a-totalitarian-state-in_87789.png" --- # The U.S.S.R. was a totalitarian state in which judges and… ![“The U.S.S.R. was a totalitarian state in which judges and prosecutors were controlled by the ruling party. The result was injustice, oppression and corruption.” quote by Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/anne-applebaum-2544_corruption_the-u-s-s-r-was-a-totalitarian-state-in_87789.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/anne-applebaum-2544_corruption_the-u-s-s-r-was-a-totalitarian-state-in_87789.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/anne-applebaum-2544_corruption_the-u-s-s-r-was-a-totalitarian-state-in_87789.png) > “The U.S.S.R. was a totalitarian state in which judges and prosecutors were controlled by the ruling party. The result was injustice, oppression and corruption.” [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A totalitarian regime subverts judicial independence, producing systemic injustice and corruption. **In simple terms:** Judicial control breeds oppression. Key Takeaway Rule of law collapses under party dominance. Themes authoritarianism judicial independence corruption human rights state power Mood critical somber analytical Type historical analysis political commentary When to use this quote - academic lectures - policy analysis - human‑rights reports - educational curricula - media commentary Key Concepts political science legal theory Practical Applications - policy reform advocacy - educational modules Questions to Reflect On - How does party control erode public trust? - What safeguards protect judicial autonomy? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Corruption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corruption/) [Equality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equality/) [Injustice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/injustice/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Oppression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppression/) [Totalitarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/totalitarian/) [Totalitarian state](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/totalitarian-state/) ## Related quotes > [If one holds these high principles clearly before one's eyes, and compares them with the life and spirit of our times, then it appears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/if-one-holds-these-high-principles-clearly-before-one-s-eyes-and/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The wars of today, the terrorism of today, are the result of injustice, and that injustice is the Outcome of our greedy, selfish, competitive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-creme/the-wars-of-today-the-terrorism-of-today-are-the-result-of-injustice/) [Benjamin Creme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-creme/) > [The totalitarian states can do great things, but there is one thing they cannot do: they cannot give the factory-worker a rifle and tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-totalitarian-states-can-do-great-things-but-there-is-one-thing/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“A tax-supported, compulsory educational system is the complete model of the totalitarian state...The most vindictive resentment may be expected from the pedagogic profession for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-paterson/a-tax-supported-compulsory-educational-system-is-the-complete-model/) [Isabel Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-paterson/) > [“Does human nature undergo a true change in the cauldron of totalitarian violence? Does man lose his innate yearning for freedom? The fate of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/does-human-nature-undergo-a-true-change-in-the-cauldron-of/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [There are two options for any society: total prohibition as in a totalitarian state, or total license. Both avoid the ardours of decision. Both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-d-james/there-are-two-options-for-any-society-total-prohibition-as-in-a/) [P. D. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-d-james/) > [We do not want to see a Hong Kong that enjoys freedoms on paper but whose autonomous status conceals the workings of a totalitarian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wong/we-do-not-want-to-see-a-hong-kong-that-enjoys-freedoms-on-paper-but-2/) [Joshua Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wong/) > [In a war a totalitarian state has a free hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feyerabend/in-a-war-a-totalitarian-state-has-a-free-hand/) [Paul Feyerabend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feyerabend/) > [“The Maoist mechanisms of social control have been loosened. A totalitarian state has become merely an authoritarian one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/the-maoist-mechanisms-of-social-control-have-been-loosened-a/) [Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/) > [One thing that all the totalitarian states did was make the great leader's face everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wu/one-thing-that-all-the-totalitarian-states-did-was-make-the-great/) [Tim Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wu/) > [In a totalitarian state like North Korea, a group of neighbors gathering once a week to watch the latest episode of a forbidden soap…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/in-a-totalitarian-state-like-north-korea-a-group-of-neighbors/) [Tom Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-malinowski/) > [I always think that reforms and turning China into a free country is a long and tortuous process. Despite this, in a totalitarian state,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-xiaobo/i-always-think-that-reforms-and-turning-china-into-a-free-country-is/) [Liu Xiaobo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liu-xiaobo/) > [“You can build the Empire State Building. Train the Prussian army. Elevate the hierarchy of a totalitarian state higher than the throne of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/you-can-build-the-empire-state-building-train-the-prussian-army/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [We do not want to see a Hong Kong that enjoys freedoms on paper, but whose autonomous status conceals the workings of a totalitarian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wong/we-do-not-want-to-see-a-hong-kong-that-enjoys-freedoms-on-paper-but/) [Joshua Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wong/) > [Puzzlement and doubt are, however, already crimes in the totalitarian state. The mind that is open for questions is open for dissent. In the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joost-meerloo/puzzlement-and-doubt-are-however-already-crimes-in-the-totalitarian/) [Joost Meerloo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joost-meerloo/) ## More by Anne Applebaum > [Quite a lot has been written, including by me, about the effect of social media on politics, and in particular the way in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/quite-a-lot-has-been-written-including-by-me-about-the-effect-of/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [After Trump became president, it was really too late to investigate his dodgy investments in Azerbaijan or his links to Russian money laundering. Those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/after-trump-became-president-it-was-really-too-late-to-investigate/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [If Reagan and John Paul II were linked by anything, it was a grand, ambitious, and generous idea of Western political civilization, one in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/if-reagan-and-john-paul-ii-were-linked-by-anything-it-was-a-grand/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [Until the attack on Pearl Harbor, isolationism was an important, even dominant strand in U.S. politics. After the Second World War, this strand disappeared,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/until-the-attack-on-pearl-harbor-isolationism-was-an-important-even/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [One knows, of course, that Donald Trump behaves differently from the leaders of other countries, especially the leaders of other Western democracies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/one-knows-of-course-that-donald-trump-behaves-differently-from-the/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [As a nation, we are not good at long-term planning, and no wonder: Our political system insists that every president be allowed to appoint…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/as-a-nation-we-are-not-good-at-long-term-planning-and-no-wonder-our/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [Amazingly, quite a few people, even some American conservatives, are taken in by Russian tactics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/amazingly-quite-a-few-people-even-some-american-conservatives-are/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [Like wealth, or health, political freedom may simply be something that people don't value if they've always had it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/like-wealth-or-health-political-freedom-may-simply-be-something-that/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [Unlike most European countries, the police in the US are decentralized; even the FBI has regional offices. Amending the constitution is a long and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/unlike-most-european-countries-the-police-in-the-us-are-decentralized/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [The hard truth is that Trump was not exceptional. He was just another amoral Western businessman, one of many whom the ex-KGB elite have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/the-hard-truth-is-that-trump-was-not-exceptional-he-was-just-another/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [Politics in Slovakia had long been a battle between egotistical men. Caputova sought to be the anti-ego alternative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/politics-in-slovakia-had-long-been-a-battle-between-egotistical-men/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [European security may now depend on Germany, France, Britain and one or two others, and it's better to start planning now for the possibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/european-security-may-now-depend-on-germany-france-britain-and-one-or/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [Americans might not want to intervene in the outside world, but the outside world will still want to intervene in America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/americans-might-not-want-to-intervene-in-the-outside-world-but-the/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [Romney was an excellent businessman with a strong record as a public servant - whereas Trump inherited wealth, went bankrupt more than once, created…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/romney-was-an-excellent-businessman-with-a-strong-record-as-a-public/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [It isn't citizens, or Congress, who decide how our information network regulates itself. 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You lose track of the amounts involved when you are engaged in this kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-kerviel/my-aim-was-to-make-money-for-the-bank-you-lose-track-of-the-amounts/) [Jerome Kerviel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-kerviel/) > [Democracy must be built through open societies that share information. When there is information, there is enlightenment. 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