The Russian drama began at the end of 1991, when the Soviet Union mercifully ended.

Russia and 14 other new countries emerged from the ruins of the Soviet Union. Every one of those 15 new states faced a profound historical, economic, financial, social and political challenge.
Jeffrey Sachs

Fear nothing but what thy industry may prevent; be confident of nothing but what fortune cannot defeat; it is no less folly to fear what is impossible to be avoided than to be secure when there is a possibility to be deprived.
Francis Quarles

Perfection is a trifle dull. It is not the least of life's ironies that this, which we all aim at, is better not quite achieved.
W. Somerset Maugham

I think some of the best modern writing comes now from travellers.
Michael Palin

For fast-acting relief try slowing down.
Lily Tomlin

New roads; new ruts.
Gilbert K. Chesterton

A manager doesn't hear the cheers.
Alvin Dark

Gemeoss

If you... scaled down human beings, scaled down society, if you land with a group

of little boys, they are more like a scaled-down version of society than a group of little girls would be. William Golding I've been performing since I was a child; my mother would have to pull me aside and tell me that I wasn't onstage. I was a cheerleader, president of choir, and in the school play. Aja Naomi King I am a very strong supporter of our government's view that it is important to engage with all countries around the world - very much including Russia. Chrystia Freeland I was wrapping up my stint on 'Daredevil' co-writing with Andy Diggle during the Shadowland story, when Marvel asked if I was interested in doing something else with DD but a bit different. When they explained the purpose of the 'Season One' books, I was intrigued - I'm a big advocate of books for people new to the medium - and said yes. Antony Johnston Spike Lee gave me the greatest reaction to the fact that I was this athlete-meets-artist, because I think he saw ...

I came to the United States in the early '80s and was welcomed with open

arms and given the opportunity to pursue my dreams. God has been very kind to us. My family and I are fortunate enough to be successful and we feel a tremendous responsibility and obligation to give back to our great country. Naveen Jain I like to move forward and notice things along the roadside that indicate where I should go. Josh Homme We knew that you don't get to be world champions without a struggle. Eric Cantona I can't speak for all women, but I do think that... I mean, me and my girlfriends, we definitely... we're in crisis on a continuous basis...or at least monthly, for sure, I don't know. Helen Slater I left school at 16 but I wish I'd gone to university - I think I would have studied English literature. I had a knack for that. But I don't think you have the kind of wisdom at 16 to make that decision. Brendan Coyle The intelligent man who is proud of his intelligence is like the condemned man who is proud of his large cell. Simone We...

I have always maintained that it's not the quantity of work, but the quality that

should speak. I have maintained the same for my music albums, too. I have always released them after a gap of two to three years.Adnan Sami In all my days of schooling, from preschool all the way up to 12th grade, there was not one white person in my class. Literally zero.Kendrick Lamar The truth is that searching for our commonality instead of our differences could transform our dysfunctional politics.Raja Krishnamoorthi It came down to the AHCA or the continued disaster of Obamacare, which was an easy choice. The AHCA is a major improvement, because a federal one-size-fits-all approach to health care isn't the answer.Cathy McMorris Rodgers I'm really glad I had the chance to live in Jensen Beach and Stuart before everything exploded. I'm always going to be fond of that area. For me, it was a sleepy little fishing town, and it kind of represents what Florida was before the development explosion.Judge Reinhold Space is much stiffer than you imagine; it's ...

When I had my first boy it all started and that male energy seemed to

keep me awake but since my daughter, who's incredibly serene, I can't seem to stop sleeping because she's asleep all the time. It's a pattern. Sadie Frost Because when the film was first mooted, the Beatles didn't like the idea at all. In fact they wouldn't have any part in it. And when Brian had committed them, it was part of a deal he did with United Artists, I think. George Martin Life is a series of steps. Things are done gradually. Once in a while there is a giant step, but most of the time we are taking small, seemingly insignificant steps on the stairway of life. Ralph Ransom I have never for a minute felt in was my stock picking abilities. I feel that my stock picking abilities aided- I was able to pick out which are the good stocks in the good market, but I have been blessed with a great market. Jim Cramer The perplexity of life arises from there being too many interesting things in it for us to be interested properly in any of them. Gilber...

I go back and research, say, every reference to the Gorgons, and I find what

the classical writers said about them and it's so much richer than you might get in an average Greek mythology text. I feel like an archaeologist - I'm dusting off these things that people have not seen for thousands of years and bringing them into the modern world. Rick Riordan The bust of Colonel Sanders stands as a monument to cruelty and has no place in the Kentucky state Capitol. Pamela Anderson I'm a big cardigan sweater guy. James Franco Science exists, moreover, only as a journey toward troth. Stifle dissent and you end that journey. John Charles Polanyi I thought, 'If I'm going to die, I'm going to videotape it.' So I got out my little video recorder and was taping goodbyes to my family. Estella Warren On a scale from 1-10, my ambition is probably 11 or 12. T. Boone Pickens I consider myself to be a good guy so it's not hard for me to play that. Seann William Scott My only worry is the painting I'm doing. Nothing else. David Ho...

I try to surround myself with the people who genuinely believe in changing things, that are

angry about it and want to make changes and want to make a change and are willing. Lauren Southern Each holiday season, as family members arrive and couches are unfolded, my household settles into a palpable nostalgia. Poorly designed photo albums are pulled from the shelves. Home videos of prepubescent siblings in matching pajamas dance across the television screen. Clint Smith I think movies are overdeveloped in Hollywood. There's a big benefit to not overdeveloping and not being so precious about what you're doing. I think you lose a kind of vitality if you develop something into the ground. Jason Blum I like mash-ups, taking contemporary songs and making them old... old songs, making them new. Bria Skonberg Living in L.A. keeps me in my car a lot, and I'm constantly flipping back and forth between the following Sirius/XM Radio stations: NFL Radio, MLB Radio, POTUS, MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News. R. J. Cutler We're part of creating this world in which we live, but we...

My grandfather was an autoworker, and I have a weapon he manufactured to protect himself

from the company that he would carry to work. It's a big iron pipe with a hunk of lead on the head. I think about how far we've come as companies from those days, where workers had to protect themselves from the company. Larry Page I loved acting when I was doing it, but getting the jobs I didn't understand because I'd never had to do it. That was a difficult lesson for me. It was very humbling and very bizarre. Mariel Hemingway There's plenty of room for all sorts of movies and all sorts of comedies, so I never saw that as a competitive thing. I think there's room in the marketplace for everything. Steve Carell It is going to be special to drive in the Netherlands because it means I can take part in a Formula One demonstration in a country where I have a lot of family and friends. Nelson Piquet There's so much of, it could have been a very critical examination of what happened, and really the emotional lives of the people involved sort of carry the ...

Once I'd reached the point where I could squirrel away more than 30 digits a

minute in memory palaces, I still only sporadically used the techniques to memorize the phone numbers of people I actually wanted to call. I found it was just too simple to punch them into my cell phone. Joshua Foer I grew up very nice. But after college, my father said you're on you own. So I was dead broke for years. So I know what it's - I lived on 600 dollars a month for six years. I know what it's like to be dead broke. I feel bad for people who are struggling now. Jon Lovitz When you're in a very specific kind of wardrobe, it kind of dictates your movement; it also kind of enables you - or, I guess, disables you - from certain kinds of movement. Sarah Gadon We need a human presence at the border and a humane presence at the border. David Dewhurst My idea of a romantic night is to watch action films. Corey Hart My sisters and mom raised me to respect women and open doors for them. Milo Ventimiglia The best way to get along is never to forgive an e...

I believe that the artist's involvement in the capitalist structure is disadvantageous to the artist

and forces him to produce objects in order to live. Sol LeWitt I think when tattoos are new and colorful, they look bad. But they look better the older and more bleached out they become. Urs Fischer That's a mistake I think that a lot of Western observers make is to assume that Korean nationalism is hundreds if not thousands of years old. When in fact nationalism is incompatible with Korean Confucian tradition. Brian Reynolds Myers Cameras in classrooms are no substitute for greater authority by parents and teachers. Paul Weyrich Infrastructure spending does not create immediate jobs, and more than half of those jobs will pull from the pool of the already employed. Mark McKinnon Watching previous figure skaters, I always wondered why they cried after their performance. Kim Yuna The sexes in each species of being... are always true equivalents - equals but not identical. Antoinette Brown Blackwell I just remember Stella Tenant and me dancing in Donatella Versace...

I quite like the idea of family. That's probably the greatest achievement in the world.

I've got a lot to achieve workwise - I'd love to direct - but family would be good. Matt Smith Even in the hardest circumstances, dreams can give you the courage to live, and I hope I can share that message with children in need. Kim Yuna Outlets are turning away from phone polling, which can be problematic. For example, we did a poll for NBC around the Ebola crisis; we provided results in 24 hours. Their traditional phone poll would have taken a week to turn around. We're showing people we can do high-quality work: we've proved that with the work we do with the media. Dave Goldberg I wanted more control of my life. I wanted work to fit in, not to dominate; to support, not to lead the pattern of my life. Tim O'Reilly I was terrified the first time that I had a big problem in my business. I was obviously terrified when they diagnosed me with cancer in 1994. I was terrified when my son used to drive too fast. But I do believe in the fact that fear is not a...