We will bury you
Encyclopedia
"We will bury you!" was a phrase famously used by Soviet
premier Nikita Khrushchev
while addressing Western ambassadors at a reception at the Polish embassy in Moscow
on November 18, 1956.
The actual verbal context was: "Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will dig you in" ("Нравится вам или нет, но история на нашей стороне. Мы вас закопаем"). In his subsequent public speech Khrushchev declared: "[...] We must take a shovel and dig a deep grave, and bury colonialism as deep as we can". Later, on August 24, 1963, Khrushchev remarked in his speech in Yugoslavia
, "I once said, 'We will bury you,' and I got into trouble with it. Of course we will not bury you with a shovel. Your own working class
will bury you," a reference to the Marxist saying, "The proletariat
is the undertaker of capitalism
", based on the concluding statement in Chapter 1 of the Communist Manifesto: "What the bourgeoisie
therefore produces, above all, are its own grave-diggers. Its fall and the victory of the proletariat are equally inevitable". Khrushchev repeated this Marxist thesis at a meeting with journalists in the U.S. in September 1959. However many Americans interpreted the quote as a nuclear threat.
Mikhail Gorbachev
wrote in his book Perestroika
and New Thinking for our Country and the World that the image used by Khrushchev was inspired by the famous discussions among Soviet agrarian scientists in the 1930s, nicknamed "who will bury whom". Khrushchev's phrase was also used as the title of Jan Šejna
's book on communist Cold War
strategies. The phrase also appears in Sting's song "Russians
", as well as the Dave Matthews Band
song "Don't Drink the Water".
A similar famous Khrushchev phrase was made to the then U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon
at an American technology exhibit in Moscow: "In 7 years we will reach the level of America. When we catch up and pass you by, we'll wave to you."
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
premier Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
while addressing Western ambassadors at a reception at the Polish embassy in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
on November 18, 1956.
The actual verbal context was: "Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will dig you in" ("Нравится вам или нет, но история на нашей стороне. Мы вас закопаем"). In his subsequent public speech Khrushchev declared: "[...] We must take a shovel and dig a deep grave, and bury colonialism as deep as we can". Later, on August 24, 1963, Khrushchev remarked in his speech in Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, "I once said, 'We will bury you,' and I got into trouble with it. Of course we will not bury you with a shovel. Your own working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
will bury you," a reference to the Marxist saying, "The proletariat
Proletariat
The proletariat is a term used to identify a lower social class, usually the working class; a member of such a class is proletarian...
is the undertaker of capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
", based on the concluding statement in Chapter 1 of the Communist Manifesto: "What the bourgeoisie
Bourgeoisie
In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
therefore produces, above all, are its own grave-diggers. Its fall and the victory of the proletariat are equally inevitable". Khrushchev repeated this Marxist thesis at a meeting with journalists in the U.S. in September 1959. However many Americans interpreted the quote as a nuclear threat.
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
wrote in his book Perestroika
Perestroika
Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev...
and New Thinking for our Country and the World that the image used by Khrushchev was inspired by the famous discussions among Soviet agrarian scientists in the 1930s, nicknamed "who will bury whom". Khrushchev's phrase was also used as the title of Jan Šejna
Jan Sejna
Jan Šejna , also Sejna in English, was, in the time of communist Czechoslovakia, a Major General of the Czechoslovak Army. After losing political power and influence at the beginning of the Prague Spring, he sought refuge in the U.S. consulate in Trieste and defected to the United States...
's book on communist Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
strategies. The phrase also appears in Sting's song "Russians
Russians (song)
"Russians" is a song by Sting, from his debut solo album, The Dream of the Blue Turtles, released in 1985. It was also released as a single. Sting cautions about the repercussions of the Cold War including the mutually assured destruction doctrine...
", as well as the Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band, sometimes shortened to DMB, is a U.S. rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991. The founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer/backing vocalist Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore. Boyd Tinsley was...
song "Don't Drink the Water".
A similar famous Khrushchev phrase was made to the then U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
at an American technology exhibit in Moscow: "In 7 years we will reach the level of America. When we catch up and pass you by, we'll wave to you."
External links
- Comments by Stephen Pearl, Chief of the English Interpretation Section of the U.N. in New York from 1980 to 1994. (On Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
.)