We disagreed with Zinoviev and Kamenev because we knew that the policy of amputation was fraught with great dangers for the Party, that the method of amputation, the method of blood-letting - and they demanded blood - was dangerous, infectious: today you amputate one limb, tomorrow another, the day after tomorrow a third - what will we have left in the Party?
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Stalin argues against purging party members, warning that removing people aggressively weakens the organization.
- In plain terms
- Cutting out party members violently hurts the group and leaves little left.
- What can you take from it?
- Avoid excessive internal purges to preserve the organization.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- When is purging necessary?
- How to balance purity and strength?
Another view
It ignores the potential benefits of removing harmful elements.
More from Joseph Stalin
The press must grow day in and day out - it is our Party's sharpest and most powerful weapon.
Permalink to quote #4 What would happen if capital succeeded in smashing the Republic of Soviets? There would set in an era of the blackest reaction in all the capitalist and coloni…
Permalink to quote #6 A sincere diplomat is like dry water or wooden iron.
Permalink to quote #3
Related quotes
If a general and his men fear death and are apprehensive over possible defeat, then they will unavoidably suffer defeat and death. But if they make up their mi…
Yoshida ShoinYoshida Shoin quote #1 War is possible only if you have a lot of enemies. If all the enemies get together and form one front - if you cut down the number of enemies - there would be …
Albert KesselringAlbert Kesselring quote #2 The certain way to victory...lies in making everything on Imperial soil contribute to the war effort...combining the total material and spiritual strength of t…
Yoshijiro UmezuYoshijiro Umezu quote #3