Vasily Blyukher

"A shark has appeared and he wants to devour me. Either he devours me or I eat him. The latter is very unlikely."

"What dirt, what bitterness, what meanness..."

"The raid made by Comrade Blyukhers forces under impossible conditions can only be equated with Suvorovs crossings in Switzerland."

"War is not included in the Second Five-Year Plan."

"An outstanding Russian general as well as a reasonable man and a good friend. What was most unusual about him was that he had none of the traits associated with Bolsheviks."

"War as a whole, and each operation taken separately, are first of all mathematics and calculations."