Quote#Death
You cannot defeat Russia. Napoleon learned this to his cost and so…
Quote byJan Christiaan Smuts · 1870–1950
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Quoted by Isaac Frederick Marcosson in An African Adventure, Chapter I – Smuts, p. 32, The Plimpton Press (1921).
English (original)
You cannot defeat Russia. Napoleon learned this to his cost and so will the rest of the world. I do not know whether Bolshevism is advancing or subsiding. There comes a time when the fiercest fires die down. But the best way to revive or rally all Russia to the Soviet Government is to invade the country and to annex large slices of it.
— Jan Christiaan Smuts
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