---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was all so long ago and Stalin doesn't…"
description: "\"“It was all so long ago and Stalin doesn't matter any more. Stalin lost his chic before you were born. Sex is always chic.”\" — Hilton Kramer"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0eb/hilton-kramer-65722_long-ago_it-was-all-so-long-ago-and-stalin-doesn_2706794.png"
---

#  It was all so long ago and Stalin doesn't matter any more…

![“It was all so long ago and Stalin doesn't matter any more. Stalin lost his chic before you were born. Sex is always chic.” quote by Hilton Kramer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0eb/hilton-kramer-65722_long-ago_it-was-all-so-long-ago-and-stalin-doesn_2706794.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0eb/hilton-kramer-65722_long-ago_it-was-all-so-long-ago-and-stalin-doesn_2706794.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0eb/hilton-kramer-65722_long-ago_it-was-all-so-long-ago-and-stalin-doesn_2706794.png)

> ““It was all so long ago and Stalin doesn't matter any more. Stalin lost his chic before you were born. Sex is always chic.””

Hilton Kramer

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The statement juxtaposes past political irrelevance with enduring sexual allure, mocking the fleeting nature of cultural trends.

**In simple terms:** Sex remains trendy even as politics fade.

Key Takeaway

Recognize what truly matters beyond trends.

Themes

culture politics sexuality

Mood

satirical critical

Type

essay commentary

When to use this quote

- fashion industry
- political discourse
- personal identity
- media consumption

Key Concepts

sociology media studies

Questions to Reflect On

- Why do we cling to sexual chic?
- How does political irrelevance affect identity?

A Different Perspective

Sexual focus can distract from deeper issues.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Long ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-ago/)

## Related quotes

> [Stalin's methods did not help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anastas-mikoyan/stalin-s-methods-did-not-help/)

[Anastas Mikoyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anastas-mikoyan/)

> [“\* \*Do remember that dishonesty and cowardice always have to be paid for.\*Don’t imagine that for years on end you can make yourself the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/do-remember-that-dishonesty-and-cowardice-always-have-to-be-paid-for/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [Joseph Stalin is a titan of thought. His name is to be given to an entire century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/palmiro-togliatti/joseph-stalin-is-a-titan-of-thought-his-name-is-to-be-given-to-an/)

Palmiro Togliatti

> [“Besides Getting my ass kicked, my main accomplishment on this trip has been to massacre an incredible number of completely innocent clothes. I'm the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-kadrey/besides-getting-my-ass-kicked-my-main-accomplishment-on-this-trip-has/)

[Richard Kadrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-kadrey/)

> [N. S. Khrushchev established his supremacy in the U.S.S.R. after post-Stalinist alarums and excursions (1958-64). This admirable rough diamond, a believer in reform and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/n-s-khrushchev-established-his-supremacy-in-the-u-s-s-r-after-post/)

[Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/)

> [I have sworn before a picture of the old and mourned comrade Stalin that I won’t rest until I see these capitalist octopuses annihilated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/i-have-sworn-before-a-picture-of-the-old-and-mourned-comrade-stalin/)

[Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/)

> [ In Stalin each \[Soviet bureaucrat\] easily finds himself. But Stalin also finds in each one a small part of his own spirit. Stalin is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/in-stalin-each-soviet-bureaucrat-easily-finds-himself-but-stalin-also/)

[Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/)

> [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sebag-montefiore/once-in-power-stalin-s-campaign-to-succeed-lenin-required-a/)

[Simon Sebag Montefiore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sebag-montefiore/)

> ['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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sebag-montefiore/daddy-used-to-be-a-georgian-stalin-s-son-vasily-once-said-actually/)

[Simon Sebag Montefiore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sebag-montefiore/)

> [The book that really, really shaped my politics and has forever is Arthur Koestler's "Darkness at Noon," which is a novel based on terrible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/the-book-that-really-really-shaped-my-politics-and-has-forever-is/)

[Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/)

> [“To choose one's victims, to prepare one's plans minutely, to slake an implacable vengeance, and then to go to bed ... there is nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/to-choose-one-s-victims-to-prepare-one-s-plans-minutely-to-slake-an/)

[Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/)

> [“Stalin is one of the most extraordinary figures in world history. He began as a small clerk, and he has never stopped being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/stalin-is-one-of-the-most-extraordinary-figures-in-world-history-he/)

[Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/)

> [“You are not that kind of man Pekkala. You are not the monster that your enemies once believed you to be. If you were,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-eastland/you-are-not-that-kind-of-man-pekkala-you-are-not-the-monster-that/)

Sam Eastland

> [“Find the crime, Arkady thought: trying to kill Stalin or missing him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-cruz-smith/find-the-crime-arkady-thought-trying-to-kill-stalin-or-missing-him/)

[Martin Cruz Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-cruz-smith/)

> [ Our differences with \[Joseph\] Stalin are entirely of a strategical character. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/our-differences-with-joseph-stalin-are-entirely-of-a-strategical/)

[Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/)

## More by Hilton Kramer

> [The more minimal art, the more maximum the explaination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilton-kramer/the-more-minimal-art-the-more-maximum-the-explaination/)

Hilton Kramer

> [The more minimal the art, the more maximum the explanation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilton-kramer/the-more-minimal-the-art-the-more-maximum-the-explanation/)

Hilton Kramer

> [Every day grows more amnesiac about its recent past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilton-kramer/every-day-grows-more-amnesiac-about-its-recent-past/)

Hilton Kramer

Explore all 4 Hilton Kramer quotes

## More Long ago quotes

> [We became Homo sapiens not that long ago, from the scientific perspective, and we've retained a lot of our beast nature. We've done all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangechi-mutu/we-became-homo-sapiens-not-that-long-ago-from-the-scientific/)

[Wangechi Mutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangechi-mutu/)

> [A wholesome regard for the memory of the great men of long ago is the best assurance to a people of a continuation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/a-wholesome-regard-for-the-memory-of-the-great-men-of-long-ago-is-the/)

[Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/)

> [“Not very long ago I was driving with my husband on the back roads of Grey County, which is to the north and east…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/not-very-long-ago-i-was-driving-with-my-husband-on-the-back-roads-of/)

[Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/)

> [There must be a technique for meeting pain. There must be a technique of endurance based on the power of the soul to maintain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-stannard-baker/there-must-be-a-technique-for-meeting-pain-there-must-be-a-technique/)

[Ray Stannard Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-stannard-baker/)

> [Women will forgive anything. Otherwise, the race would have died out long ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/women-will-forgive-anything-otherwise-the-race-would-have-died-out/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [Up until 1986, the top marginal rate, the top statutory rate was 50 percent. Now it's 35 percent. And all the pressure is on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-bartlett/up-until-1986-the-top-marginal-rate-the-top-statutory-rate-was-50/)

[Bruce Bartlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-bartlett/)

> [“We ought to live each day as though it were our last day here below. But if I did, alas, I know it would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-hein/we-ought-to-live-each-day-as-though-it-were-our-last-day-here-below/)

[Piet Hein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-hein/)

> [I was landscaping not too long ago, so I'm extremely grateful for the people supporting me in wrestling. Not that landscaping is terrible, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-riddle/i-was-landscaping-not-too-long-ago-so-i-m-extremely-grateful-for-the/)

[Matt Riddle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-riddle/)

> [“Most people would probably call me a ghost. I am, after all, dead. But I don't think of myself that way. It wasn't so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/most-people-would-probably-call-me-a-ghost-i-am-after-all-dead-but-i/)

[Christopher Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/)

> [“Waiting for Vengeance' Well, what is this? What am I coming to? And beyond that, what am I gonna do? Now there’s blankness Where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/waiting-for-vengeance-well-what-is-this-what-am-i-coming-to-and/)

[Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/)

> [“We were putting into these gomers our fear of death, but who knew if they feared death? Perhaps they welcomed death like a dear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-shem/we-were-putting-into-these-gomers-our-fear-of-death-but-who-knew-if/)

[Samuel Shem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-shem/)

> [“...The devil had long ago taken a shine to Tert Card, filled him like a cream horn with itch and irritation. His middle name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-annie-proulx-author/the-devil-had-long-ago-taken-a-shine-to-tert-card-filled-him-like-a/)

E. Annie Proulx (Author

> [So here is my story, may it bring Some smiles and a tear or so, It happened once upon a time, Far away, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-jacques/so-here-is-my-story-may-it-bring-some-smiles-and-a-tear-or-so-it/)

[Brian Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-jacques/)

> [“In the middle of the cemetery is a grassy plane, strangely vacant. There are no granite tombs or crumbling concrete, just a sun-washed treeless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-caldwell-crosby/in-the-middle-of-the-cemetery-is-a-grassy-plane-strangely-vacant/)

Molly Caldwell Crosby

> [He had long ago learned that society imposes insults that must be borne, comforted by the knowledge that in this world there comes a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-puzo/he-had-long-ago-learned-that-society-imposes-insults-that-must-be/)

[Mario Puzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-puzo/)

[Browse all 2,059 Long ago quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-ago/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“It was all so long ago and Stalin doesn't matter any more. Stalin lost his chic before you were born. Sex is always chic.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Hilton Kramer"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilton-kramer/it-was-all-so-long-ago-and-stalin-doesn-t-matter-any-more-stalin-lost/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Long ago"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilton-kramer/it-was-all-so-long-ago-and-stalin-doesn-t-matter-any-more-stalin-lost/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0eb/hilton-kramer-65722_long-ago_it-was-all-so-long-ago-and-stalin-doesn_2706794.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0eb/hilton-kramer-65722_long-ago_it-was-all-so-long-ago-and-stalin-doesn_2706794.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0eb/hilton-kramer-65722_long-ago_it-was-all-so-long-ago-and-stalin-doesn_2706794.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It was all so long ago and Stalin doesn't matter any more. Stalin lost his chic before you were born. Sex is…” — Hilton Kramer",
                "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": "Hilton Kramer",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilton-kramer/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“It was all so long ago...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilton-kramer/it-was-all-so-long-ago-and-stalin-doesn-t-matter-any-more-stalin-lost/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilton-kramer/it-was-all-so-long-ago-and-stalin-doesn-t-matter-any-more-stalin-lost/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
