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We don't appreciate what we have until it's gone. Freedom is like that. It's like air. When you have it, you don't notice it.

— Boris Yeltsin The 100 Greatest Heroes (2003)

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More quotes by Boris Yeltsin

You can build a throne with bayonets, but it's difficult to sit on it.

A man must live like a great brilliant flame and burn as brightly as he can. In the end he burns out. But this is far better than a mean little flame.

Storm clouds of terror and dictatorship are gathering over the whole country... They must not be allowed to bring eternal night.

I am convinced that the moment is coming when, with its message of eternal, universal values, it will come to the aid of our society.

Against the Grain (1990)

You can build a throne with bayonets, but you can't sit on it for long.

All Boris Yeltsin quotes →

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What constitutes the bulwark of our own liberty and independence?

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Science and religion are two human enterprises sharing many features.

Freeman Dyson Infinite in All Directions (1988)

There is no governor anywhere; you are all absolutely free. There is no restraint that cannot be escaped.

Robert Anton Wilson

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Boris Yeltsin (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.