Leon Trotsky Quotes

When we are reproached with having established a dictatorship of one party... we say, ‘Yes, it is a dictatorship of one party! This is what we stand for and we shall not shift from that position...

We decline the claim to power by parties which want to own their followers body and soul, and which want to put themselves over and above the whole nation.

There are examples of fraternal dictatorships, or one, anyway: the passing of power from Fidel to Raul Castro.

Within the Russian system, everything depends on the character of those few who hold full power in their hands. The position of the individual within present-day Russia has been described as follows: far-reaching economic security by sacrificing personal liberty.

The term Party is applied equally to the peaceful parties of America and to the Communist Party of Russia, the Nazi Party of Germany, and the Fascist Party of Italy. The methodology of these parties varies, but their fundamental objective-to place and keep their leaders in control of the government - is the same.

From this day the presidency of Mexico ends. The dictatorship of Mexico begins.

We must mobilize all forces and suspend all political parties and organizations. I do not want to be a dictator, but if need be we can resort to that.

When we are reproached for exercising the dictatorship of party, we say, yes ... We stand by it and cannot do without it.

Every dictator uses religion as a prop to keep himself in power.

Russia’s back yard is littered with authoritarian regimes—Azerbaijan, Belarus, and Uzbekistan, to name a few—whose leaders seem to view positions as lifetime appointments.

Dictators never invent their own opportunities.

In the first moments, the members of the Presidium who were with me at the Secretariat were taken to the Party Central Committee under the control of Soviet forces.

Africa has more dictators per capita than any other continent.

Dictators free themselves, but they enslave the people.

If the communist party is controlling China, they represent China.

To be a member of the Communist Party is to have a taste of the police state. It is a diluted taste but is bitter and unforgettable.

Dictators are interesting, no?

Dictators, unlike Democrats, depend on a small coterie to sustain their power. These backers, generally drawn from the military, the senior civil service, and family or clan members, have a synergistic relationship with their dictator. The dictator delivers opportunities for them to become rich, and they protect him from being overthrown.

Putin can't afford to leave the office because he will be in real danger of being prosecuted for things he and his people did during their stay in power.

It is from weakness that people reach for dictators and concentrated government power. Only the strong can be free. And only the productive can be strong.

All executive power --- from the reign of ancient kings to the rule of modern dictators --- has the outward appearance of efficiency

Theodore Roosevelt is following the footsteps of Julius Caesar and Napoleon Bonaparte, and unless we stop him it will be but a question of time when he usurps a dictatorship of the American people.

I will never abuse power if elected.... This country [Russia] can never again fall under the influence of a dictator.

Finance capital curtails democratic rights, narrowing the scope of democracy and paving the way for the open and violent dictatorship of fascist rule.

Dictators always look good until the last ten minutes.