--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There was bread enough for us in the…" description: "\"“There was bread enough for us in the army, on the front line. We were fed by the Russian people. And no one had to teach them how to do it.” “You’re r..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/vasily-grossman-4608_russians_there-was-bread-enough-for-us-in-the-arm_2936992.jpg" --- # There was bread enough for us in the army, on the front… ![“There was bread enough for us in the army, on the front line. We were fed by the Russian people. And no one had to teach them how to do it.” “You’re right there,” said the economist. “What matters is that we’re Russians. Yes, Russians—that’s quite something.” The inspector smiled and winked at his…” quote by Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/vasily-grossman-4608_russians_there-was-bread-enough-for-us-in-the-arm_2936992.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/vasily-grossman-4608_russians_there-was-bread-enough-for-us-in-the-arm_2936992.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/vasily-grossman-4608_russians_there-was-bread-enough-for-us-in-the-arm_2936992.jpg) > ““There was bread enough for us in the army, on the front line. We were fed by the Russian people. And no one had to teach them how to do it.” “You’re right there,” said the economist. “What matters is that we’re Russians. Yes, Russians—that’s quite something.” The inspector smiled and winked at his companion. It was as if he were saying those well-known words: “The Russian is the elder brother, the first among equals.”” [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator reflects on Russian solidarity and pride during wartime hardships. **In simple terms:** Russians support each other in war. Key Takeaway Recognize collective resilience. Themes war national identity solidarity Mood proud nostalgic Type historical literary When to use this quote - frontline service - civilian support - historical analysis Key Concepts cultural pride social cohesion Questions to Reflect On - How does nationalism affect morale? - What are the costs of such solidarity? A Different Perspective Idealizes unity, overlooking dissent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Elder Brother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elder-brother/) [Fed Russian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fed-russian-4358352/) [Russian Elder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/russian-elder-4358354/) [Russians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/russians/) [Russians Quite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/russians-quite-2593267/) [Russians Yes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/russians-yes-4358353/) ## Related quotes > [Most people consume information passively-whatever they're being fed. They're being fed Russian television, which tells them that in the 90s there was a terrible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-voinovich/most-people-consume-information-passively-whatever-they-re-being-fed/) [Vladimir Voinovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-voinovich/) > [The Channel is an international waterway through which the Russians are quite free to pass - and over which we have no exclusive right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hitchens/the-channel-is-an-international-waterway-through-which-the-russians/) [Peter Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hitchens/) > [The whole world is a large Niepokalanow where the Father is God, the mother the Immaculata, the elder brother the Lord Jesus in all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximilian-kolbe/the-whole-world-is-a-large-niepokalanow-where-the-father-is-god-the/) [Maximilian Kolbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximilian-kolbe/) > [“I don’t know whether you have ever seen a map of a person’s mind. Doctors sometimes draw maps of other parts of you, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-barrie/i-don-t-know-whether-you-have-ever-seen-a-map-of-a-person-s-mind/) [J.M. Barrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-barrie/) > [“Don’t cluster too much plans to do within a relatively minimum time. As beginner, you must not cut your coat according to your elder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/don-t-cluster-too-much-plans-to-do-within-a-relatively-minimum-time/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Nature, our father and mother, gave us all we have got. The state, our elder brother, swipes the lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-hein/nature-our-father-and-mother-gave-us-all-we-have-got-the-state-our/) [Piet Hein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-hein/) > [I dropped out of school after my tenth standard. 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Elder brother: I help pick up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-daaco/little-sister-dad-i-wash-the-dishes-father-really-thats-my-good-girl/) [Veronica Daaco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-daaco/) > [When I was in the hospital, everyone was worried for me, and I realised that I had to do something in my life so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arunima-sinha/when-i-was-in-the-hospital-everyone-was-worried-for-me-and-i-realised/) [Arunima Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arunima-sinha/) > [Jesus lives! the same comforting, helping, instructing, loving Elder Brother, as when John leaned on His bosom, as when He lifted Peter up from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbott-eliot-kittredge/jesus-lives-the-same-comforting-helping-instructing-loving-elder/) [Abbott Eliot Kittredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbott-eliot-kittredge/) > [“S., a clever and truthful man, once told me the story of how he ceased to believe. On a hunting expedition, when he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/s-a-clever-and-truthful-man-once-told-me-the-story-of-how-he-ceased/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [My elder brother is a lecturer in a college in Haryana, and my eldest sister was a teacher. I feel they are more educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sangram-singh/my-elder-brother-is-a-lecturer-in-a-college-in-haryana-and-my-eldest/) [Sangram Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sangram-singh/) > [If you wish to succeed in life, make perseverance your bosom friend, experience your wise counselor, caution your elder brother, and hope your guardian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/if-you-wish-to-succeed-in-life-make-perseverance-your-bosom-friend/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [My first introduction to chemistry came at a quite early age through my mother's elder brother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-wilkinson/my-first-introduction-to-chemistry-came-at-a-quite-early-age-through/) [Geoffrey Wilkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-wilkinson/) > [“If you wish success in life, make perseverance you bosom friend, experience your wise councellor, caution your elder brother, and hope your guardian genius.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/if-you-wish-success-in-life-make-perseverance-you-bosom-friend/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) ## More by Vasily Grossman > [“When a person dies, they cross over from the realm of freedom to the realm of slavery. Life is freedom, and dying is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/when-a-person-dies-they-cross-over-from-the-realm-of-freedom-to-the/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [“Life was terrible. It was as though they could understand, as though they could read in one another’s eyes, that the power which had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/life-was-terrible-it-was-as-though-they-could-understand-as-though/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [“She's got legs like a stork, no arse worth speaking of, and great cow-like eyes. call that a woman?' 'You just like big tits',…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/she-s-got-legs-like-a-stork-no-arse-worth-speaking-of-and-great-cow/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [“The true champions of a nation's freedom are those who reject the limitations of stereotypes and affirm the rich diversity of human nature to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/the-true-champions-of-a-nation-s-freedom-are-those-who-reject-the/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [I don't want you to be young and beautiful. I only want one thing. I want you to be kind-hearted - and not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/i-don-t-want-you-to-be-young-and-beautiful-i-only-want-one-thing-i/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [“My faith has been tempered in Hell. My faith has emerged from the flames of the crematoria, from the concrete of the gas chamber.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/my-faith-has-been-tempered-in-hell-my-faith-has-emerged-from-the/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [“Another fact that allowed Fascism to gain power over men was their blindness. A man cannot believe that he is about to be destroyed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/another-fact-that-allowed-fascism-to-gain-power-over-men-was-their/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [Chekhov said: let's put God - and all these grand progressive ideas - to one side. Let's begin with man; let's be kind and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/chekhov-said-let-s-put-god-and-all-these-grand-progressive-ideas-to/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [“Before the war Sofya Levinton had once said to Yevgenia Nikolaevna Shaposhnikova, 'If one man is fated to be killed by another, it would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/before-the-war-sofya-levinton-had-once-said-to-yevgenia-nikolaevna/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [“Freedom is the direct opposite of necessity; freedom is necessity overcome.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/freedom-is-the-direct-opposite-of-necessity-freedom-is-necessity/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [There's nothing more difficult than saying goodbye to a house where you've suffered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/there-s-nothing-more-difficult-than-saying-goodbye-to-a-house-where/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [“The travelers emerged into a spacious square. In the middle of this square were several dozen people on a wooden bandstand like in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/the-travelers-emerged-into-a-spacious-square-in-the-middle-of-this/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [“Among a million Russian huts you will never find even two that are exactly the same. Everything that lives is unique. It is unimaginable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/among-a-million-russian-huts-you-will-never-find-even-two-that-are/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [“Don't you remember how you once answered a question of mine? Me - I shall never forget your words. Those words of yours opened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/don-t-you-remember-how-you-once-answered-a-question-of-mine-me-i/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [“Perhaps you’ve read Tolstoy’s Hadji Mourat? Perhaps you’ve read The Cossacks? Perhaps you’ve read the story “A Prisoner in the Caucasus”? They were written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/perhaps-you-ve-read-tolstoy-s-hadji-mourat-perhaps-you-ve-read-the/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) [Explore all 101 Vasily Grossman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) ## More Russians quotes > [The Russians have held my title for ten years and they're going to be in for it when I win the Championship. They're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-fischer/the-russians-have-held-my-title-for-ten-years-and-they-re-going-to-be/) [Bobby Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-fischer/) > [“As one Finn put it after the battle of Kuhmo, ‘There were more Russians than we had bullets.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-roberts/as-one-finn-put-it-after-the-battle-of-kuhmo-there-were-more-russians/) [Andrew Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-roberts/) > [We Russians are already living, not getting ready to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-yeltsin/we-russians-are-already-living-not-getting-ready-to-live/) [Boris Yeltsin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-yeltsin/) > [Russians not only vehemently despise blacks, they believe Africa begins at the Ukraine border.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/russians-not-only-vehemently-despise-blacks-they-believe-africa/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [The Russians train; they do not dare educate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lerner/the-russians-train-they-do-not-dare-educate/) [Max Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lerner/) > [I'm not sure the Russians would be happy that their iconic wooly mammoth has North American origins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hendrik-poinar/i-m-not-sure-the-russians-would-be-happy-that-their-iconic-wooly/) [Hendrik Poinar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hendrik-poinar/) > [I can see why the Russians love Robert Burns, I think that Russians and Koreans have a very similar outlook to Scots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/i-can-see-why-the-russians-love-robert-burns-i-think-that-russians/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [My parents were angry, but they were relieved that I was in good condition. They had been afraid the Russians would torture me. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathias-rust/my-parents-were-angry-but-they-were-relieved-that-i-was-in-good/) [Mathias Rust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathias-rust/) > [“Neither the Russians nor the Americans were the cleverest people, or the most experienced, in the world that followed 1945. The French were rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-r-fehrenbach-2/neither-the-russians-nor-the-americans-were-the-cleverest-people-or/) [T.R. Fehrenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-r-fehrenbach-2/) > [The one thing that I remember from all of my intelligence briefings and my dealings with the Russians is that when you deal with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-panetta/the-one-thing-that-i-remember-from-all-of-my-intelligence-briefings/) [Leon Panetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-panetta/) > [I think you see a clear pattern of people in the Trump campaign coordinating with Russians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-quigley/i-think-you-see-a-clear-pattern-of-people-in-the-trump-campaign/) [Mike Quigley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-quigley/) > [“Russia’s biggest downside, for me at least, is its lack of color. Being in Russia is like breathing different oxygen, and I can feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-lindstrom/russia-s-biggest-downside-for-me-at-least-is-its-lack-of-color-being/) [Martin Lindstrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-lindstrom/) > [The way I understand it, the Russians are sort of a combination of evil and incompetence... sort of like the Post Office with tanks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/the-way-i-understand-it-the-russians-are-sort-of-a-combination-of/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) > [I often come across Russians and they're all interested in football.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-jay-okocha/i-often-come-across-russians-and-they-re-all-interested-in-football/) [Jay-Jay Okocha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-jay-okocha/) > [The Soyuz craft weighs tons, and you're lying on the floor of it on your back. But the Russians do tell you, remember, before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hadfield/the-soyuz-craft-weighs-tons-and-you-re-lying-on-the-floor-of-it-on/) [Chris Hadfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hadfield/) [Browse all 253 Russians quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/russians/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There was bread enough for us in the army, on the front line. We were fed by the Russian people. And no one had to teach them how to do it.” “You’re right there,” said the economist. “What matters is that we’re Russians. Yes, Russians—that’s quite something.” The inspector smiled and winked at his companion. 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