I have Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin to thank that a Russian writer can not only write anything he wants, but also publish it.

Nothing has changed in Russia since Ivan the Terrible when it comes to the divide between the people and the state. The state demands a sacred willingness to make sacrifices from the people.

The West should be even more vocal in insisting that the Russians respect human rights.

The Khodorkovsky case is typical of the "oprichnina" - the system of oppression.

I'm not a prophet or a teacher, I just ask questions. I don't think a writer should be a teacher, but should know how to pose the questions and explain the problems.

As a child I perceived violence as a sort of natural law. In the totalitarian Soviet Union, oppression held everything together. It was the sinister energy of our country.

The worst thing that can happen to Russia is indifference in the West - that is, if it were interested in nothing but oil and gas.

The Russian writer Vladimir Nabokov once said: In a Democracy, portraits of a nation's leader should never exceed the size of a postage stamp. That won't happen so quickly in Russia.

In Russia one can be as pure as can be and still lose everything in a flash and end up in prison.

Everyone in Russia must awaken the citizen within himself.

In Russia only those who are loyal to the people in power can become wealthy.

The uniting of the soul, body and spirit is the beginning of both the natural and spiritual life, but the separation of these from one another is either the end of life or beginning of a new one.

You don’t want it, but the destiny oblige it

I'm an actor, in particular, that likes to have a mask or something that can help me distance myself from the character. Like the moustache or an accent.

Be not dismayed; in the future lies the Promised Land.

Is a democracy, such as we know it, the last improvement possible in government? Is it not possible to take a step further towardsrecognizing and organizing the rights of man?

The glorified spirit of the infant is as a star to guide the mother to its own blissful clime.

Caring for your inner child has a powerful and surprisingly quick result: Do it and the child heals.

Her name is Wanda, not it. You will not touch her. Any mark you leave on her, I will double on your worthless hide.

After all, you put a lot into creating a universe and everything that goes with it, and it seems a shame to use it only once.

Men and women are immigrants in each other's worlds.