People From Moscow

"We categorically deny any accusations."

"We are in fact now living in the conditions of a perfect storm and the moment of truth, that very storm and moment of truth that will ensure and protect our interests, and make it so that your lives are better, more comfortable, more stable, and more secure."

"We do not accept the jurisdiction of ICC [International criminal court of justice]. We did not — we did not acknowledge it before, and we do not accept it right now. And we are not going to accept it further."

"No one would think from the very beginning about a couple of days. It's a serious operation with serious purposes. And I think if we try to remember those purposes, those main goals of the operation, it is to get rid of the military potential of Ukraine, and this is why our military is targeting only military objects on the territory of Ukraine. Not civil ones. Russia military are not hitting civilian aims, civil targets. Number two, it is to ensure that Ukraine changes from entire Russian centered to a neutral country. And in this sense, let's remember that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the neutral status fixed with us in the declaration of independence of the country. Three, to get rid of the nationalist battalions and regiments who are opposing Russian troops, who are now trying to cover themselves under the shield of civilians, thus paving a way for civil casualties."

"Also to ensure that Ukraine acknowledges the fact that Crimea is also an untakable part of Russia, and that People's Republic of Luhansk and Donetsk are independent states. Ukraine has lost them after the coup that happened in 2014."

"From the very beginning of these special operations, Russian military had a very strict order from the chief commander not to aim at civilian targets. And they are not doing that. They are not shelling houses. They are not shelling apartments. They are not shelling civil objects. They are only shelling and they're aiming of military infrastructure, in the context of one of the main goals of the operation, demilitarization of Ukraine. Then who is ruining the infrastructure, the civil infrastructure of Mariupol, for example? Those Nazi battalions inside Mariupol, they're simply killing those who would like to escape from the city. And these Nazi battalions, they are using the apartments as a shelter for their guns, for their armaments, for their tanks, for their snipers. That is causing the reciprocal fire. So, it is not Russian military who are doing that."

"Our president knows where he is leading our country."

"A real Russian is never ashamed to be Russian."

"Many people show themselves to be what we in Russia like to call traitors. They disappear from our lives on their own. Some resign from their jobs, some withdraw from their professional lives, and some leave the country and move to other places. That’s how the purification happens."

"We remind you that Russia has never attacked anyone throughout its history. And Russia, which has survived so many wars, is the last country in Europe that even wants to utter the word ‘war.’"

"Right now, everyone is very emotional about what’s going on. And you know what? The overwhelming majority are those who support the president emotionally. There are so many people who want to support the president — not just emotionally, but also in their actions. They’re the overwhelming majority."

"We are speaking of a special military operation that is going on, and it is going strictly in accordance with the plans, and there were purposes, they were established in beforehand of course. First, I think we have to speak about the reasons for this operation. I mean, because speaking of the morale against, in the morale against, among our military. Of course you operate data and information coming from different media and from your intelligence. But you would probably have to doubt it, and you have to think twice whether it is true or not."

"Before Putin launched his unprovoked and brutal war of choice against Ukraine, Peskov repeatedly denied Russia had any intentions to invade its neighbor. He falsely asserted that Russia did not pose a threat to Ukraine, that Russia had never attacked any other nation, and that Russia would be the “last country in Europe” to think about starting a war. Attempting to discredit Western media reports that exposed the Kremlin’s invasion preparations, Peskov called them “provocations,” an “unfounded fomenting of tension,” “Western hysteria,” “irresponsible fakes,” and “maniacal information insanity.” Russia’s war in Ukraine validated the media reports and undermined Peskov’s credibility."

"The situation is undoubtedly serious and we would ask that many international leaders not rush with their statements, not rush with their baseless accusations, request information from different sources, and at least listen to our explanations."

"Dmitri Peskov has served as Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson since 2008. In this capacity, he has played a key role in propaganda and disinformation campaigns to cover up the Kremlin’s links to the 2006 polonium poisoning of former Russian intelligence officer Alexander Litvinenko, the 2018 Novichok poisoning of former Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skirpal and his daughter Yulia, and the 2020 Novichok poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. In all these cases, official and independent sources have debunked the Kremlin’s disinformation and established the Kremlin’s direct responsibility. Serving Putin has been lucrative for Peskov, and despite being a civil servant for his entire career, he and his family are now multimillionaires."

"Russian soldiers are not shooting at civilians. They’re not attacking them but helping them."

"The creation of a demilitarised zone around the ZNPP [Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant] is not being considered."

"The operation is being conducted as planned, its goals will be achieved."

"Our presidential election is not really democracy, it is costly bureaucracy... Mr. Putin will be re-elected next year with more than 90% of the vote."

"Waging war is a completely different thing. It entails total destruction of infrastructure, complete destruction of cities. We’re not doing that."

"Ukraine was heavily militarized at the time of the start of the [special military operation]. And, as [Russian President Vladimir] Putin said yesterday, one of the tasks was the demilitarization of Ukraine. In fact, this task has been largely completed. Ukraine is using less and less of its weapons. And more and more it uses weapons systems supplied to it by Western countries."

"Russia does not strike at civilian infrastructure."

"Although elections are a requirement of democracy and Putin himself has decided to hold them, theoretically it’s possible not to hold them, Because it’s already obvious that Putin will be elected."

"Russia is the largest energy power. The country with a unique energy system, one of the leaders in generating electricity and supplying it to the global market. This is the result of your hard work and professionalism. Each of you (energy complex's worker and veteran) does everything to ensure that the country's energy system stays reliable."

"The fans always called Yashin by his first name. To them, he was one of them, like a brother or a friend. He used to walk home from matches with masses of fans – he’d let them carry his sports bag."

"Lev Yashin was first-class, a real super goalkeeper. Everything he did was top-class. He was the model for goalkeeping for the next ten to 15 years. I visualised myself doing some of the things he was doing. Even though I was already playing in the top division, I used to learn from him."

"He made me as a footballer. When you're able to score against the greatest goalkeeper in the history of world football, you remember it for your whole life. You realise that you can score against anyone."

"The joy of seeing Yuri Gagarin flying in space is only superseded by the joy of a good penalty save."

"I never wanted two things: money or to live outside Soviet Union."

"If one rejects the Orthodox creed and the eastern ascetic experience of life in Christ, which has been acquired throughout the centuries, then Orthodox culture would be left with nothing but the Greek minor [key] and Russian tetraphony."

"There are three things I cannot take in: nondogmatic faith, nonecclesiological Christianity and nonascetic Christianity. These three - the church, dogma, and asceticism - constitute one single life for me."

"Stand on the edge of the abyss and when you feel that it is beyond your strength, break off and have a cup of tea.""

"No sin is unforgivable except the sin that is not repented of."

"Most people neither hear nor understand God speaking in their hearts: they listen to the urging of passion, which inhabits the soul and with its clamour drowns the still small voice of God."

"There are known instances when Blessed Staretz Silouan in prayer beheld something remote as though it were happening close by; when he saw into someone's future, or when profound secrets of the human soul were revealed to him. There are many people still alive who can bear witness to this in their own case but he himself never aspired to it and never accorded much significance to it. His soul was totally engulfed in compassion for the world. He concentrated himself utterly on prayer for the world, and in his spiritual life prized this love above all else."

"In my young days ... I had been attracted to the idea of pure creativity, taking the form of abstract art. ... I derived ideas for my abstract studies from life around me. I would look at a man, a house, a plant, at intricate machinery, extravagant shadowscapes on walls or ceilings, at quivering bonfire flames, and would compose them into abstract pictures, creating in my imagination visions that were not like actual reality. ... Fortunately I soon realised that it was not given to me, a human being, to create from 'nothing', in the way only God can create. I realised that everything that I created was conditioned by what was already in existence. I could not invent a new colour or line that had never existed anywhere before. An abstract picture is like a string of words, beautiful and sonorous in themselves, perhaps, but never expressing a complete thought ..."

"No one on this earth can avoid affliction; and although the afflictions which the Lord sends are not great men imagine them beyond their strength and are crushed by them. This is because they will not humble their souls and commit themselves to the will of God. But the Lord Himself guides with His grace those who are given over to God's will, and they bear all things with fortitude for the sake of God Whom they have so loved and with Whom they are glorified for ever. It is impossible to escape tribulation in this world but the man who is given over to the will of God bears tribulation easily, seeing it but putting his trust in the Lord, and so his tribulations pass."

"My dear friends, I think you are in very big trouble. Whether you believe it or not, YOU ARE AT WAR. And you may lose this war very soon together with all your affluence and freedoms unless you start defending yourselves."

"People all over the Earth whether they praise America or bitterly criticize her, look upon you as the only hope for mankind's survival and the last stronghold of freedom. Some may not think in these idealistic terms, but they certainly enjoy the fruits of your civilization often forgetting to be grateful for them."

"As I mentioned before, exposure to true information does not matter anymore. A person who is demoralized is unable to assess true information. The facts tell him nothing, even if I shower him with information, with authentic proof, with documents and pictures. ...he will refuse to believe it... That's the tragedy of the situation of demoralization."

"“What is the aim of science?” “What?” “Man’s happiness. If science doesn’t make men happier, what good is it? Knowledge is power, a weapon, and if the scientist doesn’t care where it’s aimed, what makes him different from a mercenary soldier?”"

"Reason is our guide, but the eye is its most trusted counselor."

"There are no uninteresting fates, and each man takes away the universe when he dies."

"He’s not a nut. His presence, it seems, really does stimulate the creative capabilities. All right. So what? For millions of people, that’s what you would call a profession. Teachers do not produce anything of material or intellectual value themselves. They transmit knowledge, and most important, stimulate the mental and moral growth of children—real teachers, of course. That is the great meaning of their profession, to disseminate their thoughts and actions in such a way that they interweave like a golden thread in someone else’s life and then come alive unrecognized in the discoveries and achievements of the future—a profession of utmost importance for society."

"We all love mysteries in books and hate them in life. I’m no exception. After all, the reason we love mysteries in books is that the secret is revealed on the last page."

"Life is full of situations cut short, unfinished observations, everything that doesn’t fit in the parameters of a story that would make sense to strangers. We keep them to ourselves and we carry them away with us."

"There is one basic fact that holds for all living things. Evil for any form of life is anything that hinders or threatens its existence; good is anything that promotes it. It’s that way everywhere, under every sun. It’s as obvious as two times two, because otherwise, if the opposite were true, life would be dooming itself to destruction. No civilization can change the criteria for good and evil without suffering for it."

"That was practically blasphemy, asking Gordon for an explanation, frail octogenarian Gordon. Demanding an explanation after Gordon had made it very clear that his word was the truth. But no, in this room that was the birthplace of the unified field theory, this was not sacrilege. Both men were subject to the same law, which was greater than both of them, and that law made it necessary for Gordon to offer substantiating proof. He could not violate it, or else science would turn into religion, and he into its high priest."

"I’m sure that the fantastic descriptions of interstellar travel in the science fiction of the last century made many a heart skip a beat. I really don’t want my account to be a wet blanket, but the truth is the truth: there is nothing duller than space flight."

"“In traveling to the past, you can either appear in a predetermined point in space or in a predetermined point in time. In principle, it is impossible to do both simultaneously.” (Fundamental Temporalics, A.D. 2023)"