--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You cannot cover a ruin with a page of…" description: "\"You cannot cover a ruin with a page of 'Pravda.'\" — Joseph Brodsky" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9c/joseph-brodsky-1225_cannot_you-cannot-cover-a-ruin-with-a-page-of-p_2307864.png" --- # You cannot cover a ruin with a page of 'Pravda.' ![“You cannot cover a ruin with a page of 'Pravda.'” quote by Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9c/joseph-brodsky-1225_cannot_you-cannot-cover-a-ruin-with-a-page-of-p_2307864.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9c/joseph-brodsky-1225_cannot_you-cannot-cover-a-ruin-with-a-page-of-p_2307864.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9c/joseph-brodsky-1225_cannot_you-cannot-cover-a-ruin-with-a-page-of-p_2307864.png) > “You cannot cover a ruin with a page of 'Pravda.'” [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A single propaganda piece cannot conceal the truth of a disaster. **In simple terms:** Propaganda cannot hide reality. Key Takeaway Seek truth beyond surface narratives. Themes media truth propaganda Mood skeptical determined Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - news consumption - political discourse - historical analysis Key Concepts political science ethics Questions to Reflect On - How do you verify information? - What role does media play in perception? A Different Perspective Some may still be swayed by repeated misinformation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cannot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cannot/) [Cover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cover/) [Cover Ruin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cover-ruin-5471342/) [Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/page/) [Page Pravda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/page-pravda-5471323/) [Ruin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruin/) [Ruin Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruin-page-5471330/) [You](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you/) ## Related quotes > [“Snow is both sides of the same page It covers the grave and the tulip”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-l-ratliff/snow-is-both-sides-of-the-same-page-it-covers-the-grave-and-the-tulip/) [Richard L. Ratliff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-l-ratliff/) > [Actually, who hasn't been through the ghastly experience of sitting in front of a blank page, with its toothless mouth grinning at you: Go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/actually-who-hasn-t-been-through-the-ghastly-experience-of-sitting-in/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [I like the idea that every page in every book can have a gem on it. It's probably what I love most about writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/i-like-the-idea-that-every-page-in-every-book-can-have-a-gem-on-it-it/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [The best compliment came from Knopf's Sonny Mehta. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-schwartz/at-the-very-beginning-i-was-a-page-at-letterman-and-i-freelanced-for/) [Ben Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-schwartz/) ## More by Joseph Brodsky > [As long as the state permits itself to interfere in the affairs of literature, literature has the right to interfere with the affairs of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/as-long-as-the-state-permits-itself-to-interfere-in-the-affairs-of/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [For some odd reason, the expression 'death of a poet' always sounds somewhat more concrete than 'life of a poet.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/for-some-odd-reason-the-expression-death-of-a-poet-always-sounds/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [A poet is a combination of an instrument and a human being in one person, with the former gradually taking over the latter. 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To a part of speech”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/what-gets-left-of-a-man-amounts-to-a-part-to-his-spoken-part-to-a/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [“secrecy is a hotbed of vanity”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/secrecy-is-a-hotbed-of-vanity/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [“The instinctive preference was to read rather than to act. No wonder our actual lives were more or less a shambles”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/the-instinctive-preference-was-to-read-rather-than-to-act-no-wonder/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [Americans have been tremendously fortunate in poetry, regarding both the quantity and quality of poetry produced. 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You cannot dictate how people read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-you-publish-a-book-it-is-out-of-your-control-you-cannot-dictate/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [The Brazilians are amazing in their nature. You cannot describe it; you must feel that warmth when you're around them to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrikh-mkhitaryan/the-brazilians-are-amazing-in-their-nature-you-cannot-describe-it-you/) [Henrikh Mkhitaryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrikh-mkhitaryan/) > [The two things you cannot do effectively on stage are pray and copulate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-welles/the-two-things-you-cannot-do-effectively-on-stage-are-pray-and/) [Orson Welles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-welles/) > [Liberty does not exist where rights are on one side and power on the other. 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