“You know, Russia originally formed precisely as a multi -confessional state. And we have developed a certain culture of relations between representatives of various religions and ethnic groups. This is the extremely important heritage that we got from our ancestors, transmitted to us by the former generations ... I say that there were no repressions for religious considerations, that is, the repression against priests were from the Soviet regime, but they touched all the priests, there were no selective persecution for some specific religion, this was never in our country, do you understand? These are extremely important things. ”

“In connection with the question of the peasantry, we have two slopes in the party ... The first slope consists in the needless of the role of a fist and generally capitalist elements in the village, in the light of kulak danger ... The second slope consists in faning the role of a fist and generally capitalist elements in the village, in panic before these elements, in denying the fact that the union of the proletariat and the poor The middle peasant is possible and appropriate ... You ask: which slope is worse? You can’t raise the question like this. Both of them are worse, both the first and second slopes. And if these slopes develop, they are able to decompose and ruin the party. ”

Joseph Stalin. Political report of the Central Committee of the XIV Congress of the CPSU (b), December 18, 1925

A couple of phrases: repressions against all. Putin vs Stalin