Desire Quote by Joseph de Maistre

Much that we read of Russia is imagination and desire only.

— Agnes Smedley

The mentality of the Russian demands a lord, a czar, a president.

— Valentina Matviyenko

Russians have different far lofty ambitions; more of a spiritual kind. It's more about your relationship with God .

— Vladimir Putin

“He was a mostly mild man with a weakness for passion, a suburban father burdened with the heart of a Russian hero without any…

— Suzanne Berne

It is my greatest desire, I want the people in Russia to be happy and I want our partners around the world to seek…

— Vladimir Putin

“The most basic, most rudimentary spiritual need of the Russian people is the need for suffering, ever-present and unquenchable, everywhere and in everything.”

— Fyodor Dostoyevsky

As awful as the crimes of Stalinism were, the vast majority of the Russian population was trying to survive, to love, to have a…

— Amor Towles

In the soul of a Russian person there is always a drive toward some kind of lofty moral ideal, lofty moral values. That definitely…

— Vladimir Putin

“To survive and be happy, Russians have so much to bury, to willfully ignore. Small wonder that the intensity of their pleasures and indulgences…

— Owen Matthews

Let it be clearly understood that the Russian is a delightful person till he tucks in his shirt. As an Oriental he is charming.…

— Rudyard Kipling

Don't mistake the Russia you want to exist for the Russia that there actually is. Be realistic.

— Daniel Fried

The clash between the aspirations of the people for a better life and the insistence of their rulers on building a powerful state, regardless…

— Harrison Salisbury