49 Svetlana Alexievich Quotes for You to Enjoy

Svetlana Alexievich

Journalist

Born: May 31, 1948

Always Life Love People War Women

Related authors: Ambrose Bierce Dave Barry Erma Bombeck Hunter S. Thompson Mignon McLaughlin Walter Cronkite William F. Buckley, Jr. William Lloyd Garrison

A totalitarian power is mainly busy in keeping itself alive. Svetlana Alexievich

Power Busy Alive Totalitarian Mainly Itself Keeping

I don't hate. I love the Russian people. I love the Belarusan people... I love Ukraine very much. Svetlana Alexievich

Love Hate People Ukraine Russian Russian People Very Much

Freedom is not an instantaneous holiday, as we once dreamed. It is a road. A long road. We know this now. Svetlana Alexievich

Freedom Long Once Dreamed Long Road Road Instantaneous Know Holiday Now

I want to live at home. You can only write at home. Svetlana Alexievich

Home You Live Only Write Want

Many times, I have been shocked and frightened by human beings. I have experienced delight and revulsion. I have sometimes wanted to forget what I heard, to return to a time when I lived in ignorance. More than once, however, I have seen the sublime in people and wanted to cry. Svetlana Alexievich

Time Ignorance People Sometimes Seen Once More Delight Cry Return However Been Heard Sublime Shocked Times Than Frightened Forget Revulsion Human Experienced Wanted Human Beings Many Beings Lived

My wish is to humanize history. Svetlana Alexievich

History Wish

'Women's' war has its own colors, its own smells, its own lighting, and its own range of feelings. There are no heroes and incredible feats; there are simply people who are busy doing inhumanly human things. Svetlana Alexievich

War Women People Heroes Feelings Own Busy Incredible Range Feats Colors Simply Lighting Smells Doing Human Who Things

We were romantics in the 1990s and thought that communism was dead. But 10 years passed, and Putin came, and it became obvious that the process is reversible; that communism will, to varying degrees, return again and again. Svetlana Alexievich

Communism Will Thought Degrees Putin Dead Obvious Return Became Passed Came Were Years Process Romantics Again

What is life about? Two things: love and death. Svetlana Alexievich

Life Love Death About Things Two

Ten to 15 of my childhood friends from Minsk died of cancer. Chernobyl kills. Svetlana Alexievich

Cancer Ten Friends Died Childhood

In the post-Soviet era, instead of freedom, various stripes of autocratic-totalitarianism have flourished: Russian, Belarusian, Kazakh... We are finding our way out from under the debris of the 'Red Empire' slowly and tentatively. Svetlana Alexievich

Freedom Our Way Stripes Out Finding Slowly Russian Various Instead Red Empire Era Debris

The purpose of art is to accumulate the human within the human being. Svetlana Alexievich

Art Human Being Purpose Within Accumulate Human Being

Why do I write? I have been called a writer of catastrophes, but that isn't true. I am always looking for words of love. Hate will not save us. Only love. Svetlana Alexievich

Love Hate Words Will Looking Only Only Love Write Writer True Always Am Been Love-Hate Us Why Save

I don't think we should be deceived that art is such a moral thing. Svetlana Alexievich

Art Deceived Think Moral Should Thing

I have collected the history of 'domestic,' 'indoor' socialism, bit by bit. The history of how it played out in the human soul. I am drawn to that small space called a human being... a single individual. In reality, that is where everything happens. Svetlana Alexievich

History Soul Reality Socialism Human Being Space Single Everything Bit Drawn Out Collected Small Individual Indoor Single Individual How Am Domestic Human The History Of Being Where Happens Human Soul Played

We thought we'd leave communism behind, and everything would turn out fine. But it turns out you can't leave this and become free, because these people don't understand what freedom is. Svetlana Alexievich

Freedom You Communism People Thought Free Become Everything Out Would Fine Because Understand Leave Behind Turn Turns

I've known since I was five that I wanted to be a writer. Svetlana Alexievich

Writer Since Known Five Wanted

Women tell things in more interesting ways. They live with more feeling. They observe themselves and their lives. Men are more impressed with action. For them, the sequence of events is more important. Svetlana Alexievich

Women Events Men Feeling Important Action Live Ways Tell More Observe Impressed Interesting Them Themselves Sequence Lives Things

In the West, people demonize Putin. They do not understand that there is a collective Putin, consisting of some millions of people who do not want to be humiliated by the West. There is a little piece of Putin in everyone. Svetlana Alexievich

People Collective Humiliated Everyone Consisting Some Putin Piece Understand Demonize West Want Little Little Piece Who Millions Millions Of People

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