12 Quotes by Aleksandr Lebed

And this system sorted out the Chechen war in just 20 days. This way, I used the President's power, he didn't use me. It wasn't hard for me to leave - it isn't my scene. I have nothing to do there.

As I understand I took most so-called democratic states about 200 years on average to build their democracies. That is why, when we go to sleep under totalitarian rule and wake up in a democracy, it makes me laugh.

For 73 years a totalitarian regime ruled the country. Totalitarian regime.

I'm saying that more than a hundred weapons out of the supposed number of 250 are not under the control of the armed forces of Russia.

In order to build basic democracy here we'll need lives of two generations - at least forty years.

I counted on sixty days only, but I held out for 133. I didn't go into power, but to get power I borrowed some power from the President and made him sign a number of decrees and give me enough power to create a system capable of handling crisis situations.

First of all I would make about 80% of the people law-abiding citizens again. The policy which is carried out now makes every entrepreneur and businessman a thief against his own will.

I am a Soviet man, and Yeltsin is a Soviet man - maybe our grandchildren will be different.

There is no reason why I should call myself a democrat.