Famous people's catch phrases that they have never uttered
Walking around the world, aphorisms sometimes change not only the original meaning, but also the authorship. It often happens that a politician uses some catchy phrase in a memorable speech, after which he is considered the author of these words, although this is not the case. Sometimes it even comes to the point of absurdity: a person is credited with a phrase that he has never uttered.
Source: Russian House
1. "There is no person — there is no problem"
Many believe that Joseph Stalin spoke this way, but there is no documentary evidence that he said anything like that. The true author of this turnover is the writer Anatoly Rybakov, who attributed it to Stalin in the novel "Children of the Arbat". They say that Rybakov made fun of publicists and politicians from the bottom of his heart, who in their speeches cited this phrase as Stalinist.
2. "If I fall asleep and wake up in a hundred years and they ask me what is happening in Russia now, I will answer without hesitation: they drink and steal"
The media often cite this joke with the note: "As Saltykov-Shchedrin wrote..." And sometimes the phrase is attributed to historian Nikolai Karamzin. In fact, it appeared in the "Blue Book" by Mikhail Zoshchenko with reference to the notebooks of Pyotr Vyazemsky, who, in turn, refers to conversations with Karamzin.
3. "Stalin accepted Russia with a plough, and left with an atomic bomb"
Winston Churchill really treated the Soviet leader with caution and respect, which he mentioned in the famous Fulton speech. But he didn't say anything about Soha. For the first time, as a quote from Churchill, this phrase was used by Stalinist Nina Andreeva in the note "I cannot give up my principles." And the idea, obviously, was gleaned from an article in the Encyclopedia Britannica about Stalin: "The essence of Stalin's truly historical achievements is that he accepted Russia with a plough, and leaves with nuclear reactors."
4. "If they don't have bread, let them eat cakes"
It is generally believed that Marie Antoinette once asked the courtiers why the Parisian poor are constantly rebelling. She was told that the poor did not have enough bread. "If they don't have bread, let them eat cakes," the queen allegedly reacted.
In fact, something similar was composed by the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. In the "Confession" we read: "Finally I remembered what a way out came up with one princess. When she was informed that the peasants had no bread, she replied: "Let them eat brioche."" The novel was published in 1789, just at the time when Marie Antoinette was ruining France with her antics. She didn't say anything like that, but people thought it was her style.
5. "Any cook can run the state"
Since the late 80s, critics of the Soviet system have been actively trumping this phrase. Without entering into a dispute on the topic of whose ability to govern the state is higher — a Russian cook of the beginning of the XX century or a Russian deputy of the beginning of the XXI century, let's say that in this case we are talking about a deliberate distortion of the real Lenin phrase.
In the article "Will the Bolsheviks retain state power?" Lenin wrote: "We are not utopians. We know that any laborer and any cook are not capable of entering into government right now… But we demand an immediate break with the prejudice that only the rich can manage the state, carry out the everyday, daily work of management..."
Keywords: Aphorisms | Lenin | USSR | Stalin | France | Quotes | Churchill