Anne Applebaum quotes

Before a nation can be rebuilt, its citizens need to understand how it was destroyed in the first place: how its institutions were undermined, how its language was twisted, how its people were manipulated. (Anne Applebaum)
We may be reaching the end of the liberal world order. View quote
Anne Applebaum
Unlike most European countries, the police in the US are decentralized; even the FBI has regional offices. Amending the constitution is a long and tedious process. View quote
Anne Applebaum
Polarization is normal. Skepticism about liberal democracy is normal. And the appeal of authoritarianism is eternal. View quote
Anne Applebaum
Given the right conditions, any society can turn against democracy. Indeed, if history is anything to go by, all societies eventually will. View quote
Anne Applebaum
The Russian economy is about the size of the Italian economy; it's very small, and Russia's military force is larger than it was, because Putin's been investing in it, but it still doesn't compare to that of the United States, and his reach and aim still don't compare. View quote
Anne Applebaum
The evolution of a bourgeoisie is a healthy phenomenon when it grows and prospers thanks to bourgeois values: hard work, honesty, personal responsibility. View quote
Anne Applebaum
The surge in right-wing populism and the phenomenon of Trump are related. You can think of them together as the same problem. View quote
Anne Applebaum
Putin is not a mass murderer. But, having said that, he is a product of the KGB, and the KGB was, of course, the secret police force of the Soviet Union. View quote
Anne Applebaum
Before joining NATO, each country had to establish civilian control of its army. Before joining the European Union, each adopted laws on trade, judiciary, human rights. As a result, they became democracies. This was "democracy promotion” working as it never has before or since. View quote
Anne Applebaum
The archival record backs up the testimony of the survivors. Neither crop failure nor bad weather caused the famine in Ukraine. (Anne Applebaum)