--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Throughout Soviet times, I understood…" description: "\"Throughout Soviet times, I understood what was really happening in the world around me.\" — Lennart Meri" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0b/lennart-meri-33041_soviet_throughout-soviet-times-i-understood-wha_1873433.png" --- # Throughout Soviet times, I understood what was really… ![“Throughout Soviet times, I understood what was really happening in the world around me.” quote by Lennart Meri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0b/lennart-meri-33041_soviet_throughout-soviet-times-i-understood-wha_1873433.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0b/lennart-meri-33041_soviet_throughout-soviet-times-i-understood-wha_1873433.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0b/lennart-meri-33041_soviet_throughout-soviet-times-i-understood-wha_1873433.png) > “Throughout Soviet times, I understood what was really happening in the world around me.” [Lennart Meri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lennart-meri/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Meri reflects that during Soviet era he perceived hidden truths about global events, suggesting awareness beyond official narratives. **In simple terms:** He saw true world events despite Soviet propaganda. Key Takeaway Seek independent information sources. Themes history politics media critical thinking Mood thoughtful critical Type historical analytical When to use this quote - political activism - education - journalism Key Concepts Soviet censorship information control personal insight Questions to Reflect On - How can individuals verify hidden truths? - What role does media play in shaping perception? A Different Perspective Reliance on personal perception may miss broader data. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Really Happening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really-happening-679262/) [Soviet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soviet/) [Soviet Times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soviet-times-1420526/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Times Understood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/times-understood-1630543/) [Understood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood/) [Understood Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood-really-2599526/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Of course the biggest mafia in Russia has always been the government; in Soviet times, the Communist Party, and now a circle of former…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-cruz-smith/of-course-the-biggest-mafia-in-russia-has-always-been-the-government/) [Martin Cruz Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-cruz-smith/) > [The 'Times' is understood to be almost the unofficial biographer of the country, in some strange way to be printing a kind of quasi-neutral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/the-times-is-understood-to-be-almost-the-unofficial-biographer-of-the/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [I decided to create a sports club during the Soviet times. It was my dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-bubka/i-decided-to-create-a-sports-club-during-the-soviet-times-it-was-my/) [Sergei Bubka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-bubka/) > [There's something really happening and really moving, and it's exciting and it makes me very optimistic because it is going to be the engine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-fox/there-s-something-really-happening-and-really-moving-and-it-s/) [Josh Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-fox/) > [It's like nothing's really happening. Our culture is almost dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/it-s-like-nothing-s-really-happening-our-culture-is-almost-dead/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [Sometimes what we see, what's going on in front of us, isn't really what's happening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-martinez/sometimes-what-we-see-what-s-going-on-in-front-of-us-isn-t-really/) [J. D. Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-martinez/) > [Often, I get the feeling that the story is really happening somewhere and all I'm doing is trying to work out the best way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-nix/often-i-get-the-feeling-that-the-story-is-really-happening-somewhere/) [Garth Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-nix/) > [I'd much rather hang out in a cafe. That's where things are really happening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-sacco/i-d-much-rather-hang-out-in-a-cafe-that-s-where-things-are-really/) [Joe Sacco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-sacco/) > [It's almost like schizophrenia the way I get ideas about things that are not really happening and just end up focusing on them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/limmy/it-s-almost-like-schizophrenia-the-way-i-get-ideas-about-things-that/) [Limmy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/limmy/) > [The climate is doing its usual tricks. There's nothing much really happening yet. We were supposed to be halfway toward a frying world now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lovelock/the-climate-is-doing-its-usual-tricks-there-s-nothing-much-really/) [James Lovelock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lovelock/) > [You never know what's really happening behind closed doors. Everything isn't always what it seems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-zolciak-biermann/you-never-know-what-s-really-happening-behind-closed-doors-everything/) [Kim Zolciak-Biermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-zolciak-biermann/) > [I write about things that are really happening, serious things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilson-pickett/i-write-about-things-that-are-really-happening-serious-things/) [Wilson Pickett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilson-pickett/) > [What really is happening, is the word is now out, that when you want to move your plant to Mexico or some other place,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/what-really-is-happening-is-the-word-is-now-out-that-when-you-want-to/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [I get very involved in my roles. I want people to think it's all really happening. If I'm in it, I'm in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juno-temple/i-get-very-involved-in-my-roles-i-want-people-to-think-it-s-all/) [Juno Temple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juno-temple/) > [In terms of threshold, as long as it's based in reality, you can go pretty far, as long as you buy that it's really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-mccarthy/in-terms-of-threshold-as-long-as-it-s-based-in-reality-you-can-go/) [Melissa McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-mccarthy/) ## More by Lennart Meri > [Science will liberate us from the chains of big cities and lead us back to nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lennart-meri/science-will-liberate-us-from-the-chains-of-big-cities-and-lead-us/) [Lennart Meri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lennart-meri/) > [I am not always happy with the compliments Estonia has received.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lennart-meri/i-am-not-always-happy-with-the-compliments-estonia-has-received/) [Lennart Meri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lennart-meri/) > [Looking in the mirror to check if my tie is straight is a waste of my time. I only look in the mirror once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lennart-meri/looking-in-the-mirror-to-check-if-my-tie-is-straight-is-a-waste-of-my/) [Lennart Meri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lennart-meri/) > [I was too busy looking into Yeltsin's eyes to notice what was under the table.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lennart-meri/i-was-too-busy-looking-into-yeltsin-s-eyes-to-notice-what-was-under/) [Lennart Meri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lennart-meri/) > [With that radio I was always swimming with the current political streams in the West. I was never stranded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lennart-meri/with-that-radio-i-was-always-swimming-with-the-current-political/) [Lennart Meri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lennart-meri/) > [That radio was very important for me. It meant I always knew what was going on in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lennart-meri/that-radio-was-very-important-for-me-it-meant-i-always-knew-what-was/) [Lennart Meri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lennart-meri/) > [Our civilisation has lost this bond between times, and tends to measure time with a yardstick, bit by bit, from one point to another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lennart-meri/our-civilisation-has-lost-this-bond-between-times-and-tends-to/) [Lennart Meri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lennart-meri/) > [Ive never met a general yet who could milk a cow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lennart-meri/ive-never-met-a-general-yet-who-could-milk-a-cow/) [Lennart Meri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lennart-meri/) > [In the past, when I shot films about fishermen and hunters, I always had to admire their ability to perceive time in its entirety.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lennart-meri/in-the-past-when-i-shot-films-about-fishermen-and-hunters-i-always/) [Lennart Meri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lennart-meri/) > [Traveling is the only passion that doesn't need to feel shy in front of intellect,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lennart-meri/traveling-is-the-only-passion-that-doesn-t-need-to-feel-shy-in-front/) [Lennart Meri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lennart-meri/) > [History is more interesting than politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lennart-meri/history-is-more-interesting-than-politics/) [Lennart Meri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lennart-meri/) > [I've never met a general yet who could milk a cow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lennart-meri/i-ve-never-met-a-general-yet-who-could-milk-a-cow/) [Lennart Meri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lennart-meri/) > [If geography is prose, maps are iconography,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lennart-meri/if-geography-is-prose-maps-are-iconography/) [Lennart Meri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lennart-meri/) > [Security is like virginity: you're either a virgin or you're not. You either have security or you don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lennart-meri/security-is-like-virginity-you-re-either-a-virgin-or-you-re-not-you/) [Lennart Meri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lennart-meri/) [Explore all 15 Lennart Meri quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lennart-meri/) ## More Soviet quotes > [ Neither Italian fascism nor German national "socialism" have anything in common with such a \[Soviet socialistic\] society, primarily because private ownership of factories, plants,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/neither-italian-fascism-nor-german-national-socialism-have-anything/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [In 2001, we were told that the war in Afghanistan was a feminist mission. The marines were liberating Afghan women from the Taliban. Can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/in-2001-we-were-told-that-the-war-in-afghanistan-was-a-feminist/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [ I think his \[Reagan's\] policy toward the Soviet Union was more risky than most people realize, and it was risky because of the paranoia… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-hoffman/i-think-his-reagan-s-policy-toward-the-soviet-union-was-more-risky/) [David E. Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-hoffman/) > [The ultimate goal of the whole policy of peaceful co-existence was to make progress on the basic goal laid down by Lenin of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-nitze/the-ultimate-goal-of-the-whole-policy-of-peaceful-co-existence-was-to/) [Paul Nitze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-nitze/) > [I'm a historian by training and by conviction. And so the thing that has throughout informed my thinking about international relations is history. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-garton-ash/i-m-a-historian-by-training-and-by-conviction-and-so-the-thing-that/) [Timothy Garton Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-garton-ash/) > [The Soviet Union is like the Cross without Christ, while American culture is like Christ without the Cross.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-soviet-union-is-like-the-cross-without-christ-while-american/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [Russia can fall apart. It's not because of the oil prices ... It's because what sticks a country together is a common interest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilya-ponomarev/russia-can-fall-apart-it-s-not-because-of-the-oil-prices-it-s-because/) [Ilya Ponomarev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilya-ponomarev/) > [For many people in the west, Afghanistan is synonymous with the Soviet war and the Taliban. I wanted to remind people that Afghans had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/for-many-people-in-the-west-afghanistan-is-synonymous-with-the-soviet/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [Gentlemen, comrades, do not be concerned about all you hear about Glasnost and Perestroika and democracy in the coming years. They are primarily for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-gorbachev/gentlemen-comrades-do-not-be-concerned-about-all-you-hear-about/) [Mikhail Gorbachev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-gorbachev/) > [I refer to the misunderstanding of Soviet Russia as an aggressive power, militaristically and ideologically bent upon world domination 'seeing', to quote a recent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enoch-powell/i-refer-to-the-misunderstanding-of-soviet-russia-as-an-aggressive/) [Enoch Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enoch-powell/) > [The dominant propaganda systems have appropriated the term "globalization" to refer to the specific version of international economic integration that they favor, which privileges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-dominant-propaganda-systems-have-appropriated-the-term/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Dentists, doctors, surveyors from Latvia wanted to come to England, do anything to get away from the Soviet regime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-martin/dentists-doctors-surveyors-from-latvia-wanted-to-come-to-england-do/) [Guy Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-martin/) > [The most puzzling development in politics during the last decade is the apparent determination of Western European leaders to re-create the Soviet Union in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-gorbachev/the-most-puzzling-development-in-politics-during-the-last-decade-is/) [Mikhail Gorbachev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-gorbachev/) > [Vladimir Putin is a smart guy. I don't like him, smart guy. He is going to advance the cause of Russia until he hits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-kinzinger/vladimir-putin-is-a-smart-guy-i-don-t-like-him-smart-guy-he-is-going/) [Adam Kinzinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-kinzinger/) > [The Cold War philosophy of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD), which prevented the former Soviet Union and the United States from using the nuclear weapons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-lewis/the-cold-war-philosophy-of-mutual-assured-destruction-mad-which/) [Bernard Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-lewis/) [Browse all 999 Soviet quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soviet/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Throughout Soviet times, I understood what was really happening in the world around me.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lennart Meri" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lennart-meri/throughout-soviet-times-i-understood-what-was-really-happening-in-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Soviet" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lennart-meri/throughout-soviet-times-i-understood-what-was-really-happening-in-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0b/lennart-meri-33041_soviet_throughout-soviet-times-i-understood-wha_1873433.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0b/lennart-meri-33041_soviet_throughout-soviet-times-i-understood-wha_1873433.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0b/lennart-meri-33041_soviet_throughout-soviet-times-i-understood-wha_1873433.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Throughout Soviet times, I understood what was really happening in the world around me.” — Lennart Meri", "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": "Lennart Meri", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lennart-meri/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Throughout Soviet times, I understood what...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lennart-meri/throughout-soviet-times-i-understood-what-was-really-happening-in-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lennart-meri/throughout-soviet-times-i-understood-what-was-really-happening-in-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 } } ] } ```