Soviet leader Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin unexpectedly intervened in the course of the 2016 election campaign in the United States. The "culprit" of this event was the presidential candidate from the Republican Party Ben Carson.

During a televised debate, Carson said: "Joseph Stalin said that if you want to destroy America, you need to destroy three things - our spiritual life, our patriotism and our morality."

Very quickly, viewers and netizens discovered that the presidential contender had quoted words that Stalin never actually uttered. After that, hundreds of ironic comments rained down on Carson.

The most curious thing is that the quote cited by Ben Carson is well known to the Russian audience - it, but only reversed in relation to Russia, is cited either as part of the so-called "Dulles plan", or as a statement Zbigniew Brzezinski. Some even attribute it Otto von Bismarck.

In fact, neither Stalin, nor Bismarck, nor Brzezinski, as well as other prominent figures from different eras, have anything to do with this phrase. The most similar statement is found in the hero of the novel writer Anatoly Ivanov"Eternal Call", a former Russian gendarmerie officer, and at the time of the statement - SS Standartenführer Lakhnovsky.

The incident that happened to Ben Carson is not so rare. Thanks to the Internet, the replication of loud statements and aphorisms of famous people who actually did not say anything like that has become massive.

Leader of the Russian Revolution Vladimir Ilyich Lenin wrote about this: "The main problem with quotes on the Internet is that people immediately believe in their authenticity."

If you were confused by the historical neighborhood of Lenin and the Internet, then you can be congratulated - of course, he did not write anything like that. However, this phrase, launched by someone as a mockery of fake quotes, is now taken at face value by many citizens who are not too savvy in historical matters.

AiF.ru has collected several examples of famous sayings of the powers that be, which they never actually uttered.

1. "No person - no problem" - Joseph Stalin

It is not known what the Soviet leader would have said upon hearing this saying - perhaps he would have nodded his head approvingly, or perhaps he would have twisted his finger at his temple. In any case, there is no reliable evidence that Stalin ever said such a phrase.

In fact, the phrase was introduced into circulation and attributed to Stalin by the writer Anatoly Rybakov in the novel "Children of the Arbat". They say that the author heartily laughed at publicists and politicians who in their speeches cited this phrase as really Stalinist.

2. “We don’t have irreplaceable people” - Joseph Stalin

And one more phrase attributed to the Generalissimo, but not belonging to him. In 1942, it was used in the play "Front" by the playwright Alexander Korneychuk. But he is not the author either. The words actually belong to the Commissar of the French Revolutionary Convention Joseph Le Bon and were said in 1793. Vicomte de Gieselin, arrested for political unreliability, asked to save his life, since his education and experience could still be useful to the new France. To which Commissioner Le Bon replied: “There are no irreplaceable people in the Republic!” The commissioner turned out to be right - soon after the viscount he went to the guillotine himself.

3. "Stalin took Russia with a plow, and left with an atomic bomb" - Winston Churchill

Another famous phrase, now not Stalin, but about Stalin. Really, Winston Churchill treated the Soviet leader with apprehension and respect, which was reflected even in the Fulton speech that launched the Cold War: "I deeply admire and honor the valiant Russian people and my wartime comrade Marshal Stalin."

But Churchill did not say anything about the plow and the atomic bomb. For the first time, as a quote from Churchill, she was cited in the article “I can’t compromise my principles” in March 1988 by a Stalinist Nina Andreeva.

Andreeva may have been inspired by a 1956 Encyclopædia Britannica article about Stalin. Author of the article, Sovietologist Isaac Deutscher, wrote: “The essence of Stalin's truly historic achievements is that he accepted Russia with a plow, and leaves it with nuclear reactors. He raised Russia to the level of the second industrialized country in the world.”

4. "When I hear the word 'culture', my hand reaches for a gun" - Joseph Goebbels

The chief propagandist of the Third Reich really did not favor those manifestations of culture that did not fit into the Nazi ideology. Perhaps he would even subscribe to this statement, as Hermann Göring, who is sometimes also credited with the authorship of these words. But the truth is that neither Goering nor Goebbels said anything like that.

In fact, the phrase is taken from a play by a Nazi playwright Hans Jost"Schlageter", dedicated to the German veteran of the First World War, who, after the Allied occupation of the Rhineland, continued to undermine French trains. In the play, Schlageter discusses with his friend whether it is worth spending time studying if the country is under occupation. The friend replies that it is better to fight than to learn, and that at the word "culture" he unlatches his Browning.

5. “Do not feel sorry for the soldiers, the women still give birth!” Marshal Georgy Zhukov

This quote is very popular among critics of Marshal Zhukov's leadership talents, as well as among fans of the version that the Red Army "thrown corpses" at the Wehrmacht.

The problem is that Zhukov never said it. How not to pronounce it Alexander Suvorov, Mikhail Kutuzov and emperor Peter the Great to which it was attributed at various times.

It is not known for certain how and when this phrase originated. Something similar can be found in the letter of the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna to Nicholas II, dated August 17, 1916: “The generals know that we still have many soldiers in Russia, and therefore do not spare lives, but these were superbly trained troops, and everything was in vain.”

6. "The Franco-Prussian War was won by a German schoolteacher" - Otto von Bismarck

Otto von Bismarck said a lot in his life that later turned into aphorisms. But, in addition to the real words of Bismarck, there are a lot of those that are erroneously attributed to him.

The author of the statement is a contemporary of Bismarck, a teacher of geography Oscar Peschel. The words that appeared in a newspaper article in the summer of 1866 referred not to the Franco-Prussian, but to the Austro-Prussian war: "When the Prussians beat the Austrians, it was the victory of the Prussian teacher over the Austrian school teacher."

7. “Whoever was not a radical in his youth has no heart; whoever has not become a conservative in his maturity has no mind.” – Winston Churchill

Many people heard about this phrase of Churchill, but the trouble is that the British Prime Minister himself, obviously, never uttered it. British historians, having turned over the archives, have not found reliable confirmation of Churchill's utterance of this phrase.

Paul Addison from the University of Edinburgh states: “Churchill obviously could not say this, since he himself was a conservative at 15 and a liberal at 35. Besides, he would have spoken so disrespectfully for Clemmie ( Clementine Churchill, Winston's wife - approx. ed.), who was considered a liberal all her life?

The most likely author of the expression is the Prime Minister of France in 1847-1848. François Guizot who once said: “He who is not a Republican at twenty years old has no heart; who is a Republican after thirty, he has no head.

8. "Any cook can run the state" - Vladimir Lenin

Since the late 1980s, critics of the Soviet system and socialism in general have been actively trumpeting this phrase. Without entering into a dispute on the topic of whose ability to govern the state is higher - a Russian cook at the beginning of the 20th century or a Russian deputy at the beginning of the 21st century, it must be said that Lenin did not utter such words.

In this case, we are talking about a deliberate distortion of the real Leninist phrase. In October 1917, in the article “Will the Bolsheviks Retain State Power?” Lenin wrote: “We are not utopians. We know that any unskilled worker and any cook are not capable of immediately entering into government. On this we agree with both the Cadets and Breshkovskaya, and with Tsereteli. But we differ from these citizens in that we demand an immediate break with the prejudice that only rich officials or officials taken from rich families can manage the state, carry out the everyday, daily work of government. We demand that public administration be taught by conscious workers and soldiers and that it be started immediately, that is, all working people, all the poor, should be immediately involved in this training.

As you can see, Lenin's original phrase has a completely different meaning.

9. “If I fall asleep and wake up in a hundred years, and they ask me what is happening in Russia now, I will answer without hesitation: they drink and steal,” Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin

This phrase is known to everyone and is regularly found in the media. But Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin, despite all his satirical talent, did not write or pronounce it. Most likely, the second contender for authorship, a Russian historian, did not do this either. Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin. The phrase appears on Mikhail Zoshchenko in Blue Book with reference to notebooks Pyotr Andreevich Vyazemsky, which, in turn, refers to conversations with Karamzin. There is no reliable confirmation of the reality of the conversation in which such a phrase was uttered, so it can be considered the author's find of Zoshchenko himself.

10. “Every fool can handle a crisis. What is more difficult for us is everyday life.” – Anton Chekhov

This phrase has become especially active among Russian Internet users recently due to the economic crisis in the country. However, she is also popular abroad, since Anton Pavlovich Chekhov is one of the Russian writers and playwrights who are well known throughout the world.

The problem is that to this day no one has been able to find an indication of this phrase in the works, letters and memoirs of Chekhov.

Are there no essentials?

Olga Nikitina: - I am of the opinion that there are no irreplaceable people. Of course, I appreciate the contribution to the development of the company of each employee, but if the circumstances are such that you have to part with someone, well, such is life, it all consists of losses and finds. After working for some time in the company, the new employee will understand the specifics of our work. And if we arrange each other, then over time it will become as "indispensable" as its predecessor.

But “fight” with “irreplaceable” is too strong a word. It is necessary to carry out systematic work, which is as follows: firstly, the manager himself must always be aware of what is happening in the company (what projects are being developed, what is being implemented at the moment, what has already been achieved, etc.). Secondly, try to teach employees to be versatile in their work, so that everyone can replace the other during vacation, illness, or due to workload. And, finally, thirdly, to regularly hold general meetings of the team, so that everyone knows where the company is heading, what to expect, how to build further work. Speaking not only as a business owner, but also as its manager, of course, I appreciate my importance in the development of the company. I believe that I am not only the founder of business, but also its thinking center, a generator of new ideas. In cases where the head of the company changes, the company may work worse or better (it all depends on the professionalism of the person), and when the owner changes, the company may cease to exist altogether or radically change its direction of activity. Combining both functions, I not only set a goal that the company must achieve, but also develop specific tools with which it must be achieved.

Vyacheslav Antonov:

For example, the work of a doctor is not mechanized, it simply cannot be. And I must say that there are very few good doctors. These are irreplaceable people, because if they are replaced, the quality of the service provided will suffer.

Tatyana Shvab:

The main thing is that a person understands his place in the business process. Each employee must know that he is responsible for his area of ​​work. If he fills it up, the whole process will be slowed down. Transparency of technology is the key to successful work and lack of indispensability. There is a category of people who are trying to build technology in such a way that they become indispensable. But I do not welcome this and never do it, because, in my opinion, it speaks of a lack of self-esteem and low self-esteem. Life is so arranged that nothing lasts forever under the moon.

Everything flows, everything changes. Of course, I can be replaced overnight. I can be irreplaceable only thanks to my charisma, just like any other person.

Sergei Kudrin:

There are employees who silently do the job, and there are those who portray activity, while doing their best to exalt their merits “to the skies” and present themselves as such “irreplaceable”. I don't like such "irreplaceable" employees, I value highly qualified specialists more. Distinguishing one from the other is easy.

When a person works, you can see not him, but his work. Some projects, proposals constantly come from him, ready-made developments come. I really appreciate such people, because they do not waste my and their time in vain, but involve me only when it is really necessary.

And there are people who seem to be doing something, but the result is zero. But at the same time they come to me with enviable regularity, ask questions, consult. In general, they try to increase their importance in my eyes. But the work is still not going! I appreciate those who really work, I move forward and offer something myself, and I try to part with others as soon as possible. I think it will be better, both for the company and for the team.

I am a young CEO - less than a year in office. With the advent of the position had to change a lot in the company. Optimize business processes, identify really good specialists and those who were not interested in work, but only in their own status. As a result, many "irreplaceable" employees had to leave. After the departure of "irreplaceable" people, I did not immediately try to recruit new staff. I handed over the functionality of the former employee to specialists from related fields, looked at who was doing what. For some employees, the expansion of their functionality became an opportunity for career and professional growth, while others could not cope and left.

Compared to last year, Zebra Telecom's staff has been updated by almost 50%. Some positions have been restored and new invited specialists are working for them. In general, I believe that at that time the renewal of the company was necessary and it was successful.

Read the full text in the printed version of the Human Resources Management magazine

Once someone dropped a similar phrase, and everyone picked it up. They believed that people can be shuffled like cards, and nothing will change.

The sun will still blush, and the matter will be argued. The sun will definitely roll out and stick to the sky, but questions will definitely arise with the energy of a particular person. After all, no one and no one is able to repeat. There is a bakery at the back of my house. Tiny, with rustic violets on the windowsills and stacks of old magazines. It bakes croissants with whole apricots and pours cocoa into Czech porcelain. Returning from training, every time I run for a buckwheat baguette and talk with the saleswoman. She stands behind the counter in a white starched apron and resembles the "gray-haired old woman" from the fairy tale "The House That Jack Built". Always sterile, friendly with powdered hair at the roots.

Are there no irreplaceable people? Are you sure?

We bow to each other old-fashionedly and chat about this and that. I share that the husband taught the child to growl, and now she imagines herself to be either a lion cub or a puppy. She talks about her old dog Lola, who sings along with Leps.

A month ago, the woman quit her job and left for her son. Her place was taken by a sullen aunt with no hair and "the house that Jack built." Without a smile, soft energy, laid-back hospitality.

I still buy bread, but my life has lost the usual morning conversation.

In our student years, we chose a tiny restaurant located in the cellar. They roasted cordon bleu, made dumplings, poured draft beer and served the cheapest coffee in the city. They played "Hands up" and "tramp boy".

Things were sluggish, monotonous, until a new administrator appeared: a skinny choleric girl. She started hosting cocktail parties, changed the menu, arranged candles and invited musicians.

Two guitarists theatrically hung frock coats on the backs of high chairs and sang "Sunday" and "The Secret". On Fridays, the barista played pranks. On Mondays - tasting of new dishes.

Things went up sharply, and people began to book tables in advance, until the “administrator” got married and went on maternity leave.

The restaurant immediately deflated, returned to its former sluggish life, and then completely closed.

“There are no irreplaceable people,” said someone in France. This was repeated by Woodrow Wilson, followed by Stalin, and many of us continue to say so.

Similarly, Pliny the Elder, without checking, wrote that ostriches bury their heads in the sand, while they simply lay their necks on the ground to rest.

Similarly, we say that soup must be eaten every day, cactus saves from harmful radiation, and if a person grinds his teeth, then he has worms.

In fact, there is nothing useful in boiled vegetables, invisible radiation cannot be absorbed, and you can only replace the battery in the watch, and it’s not a fact that they will go on as before.

Probably, each of us has heard the phrase: "There are no irreplaceable people." The aphorism is quite common. Someone agrees with him, and someone can argue about this. Not everyone knows where this expression came from. Who first said it and why did it become so popular? We will try to deal with these and other questions in this article.

Who is the author of the phrase "There are no irreplaceable people"?

In Russia, the authorship of this expression is often attributed to I. V. Stalin. However, in fact, there are no sources that would confirm this fact. The only place where a phrase similar in meaning was heard was his report at the Congress of the CPSU. In it, he mentions "arrogant nobles" who consider themselves irreplaceable, and therefore feel their impunity. Stalin called for the deprivation of such people of their positions, despite all their past merits.

In fact, this expression became so widespread after the election campaign of Wilson, who ran for President of the United States in 1912. However, he was not its author. Wilson borrowed from French.

There are no irreplaceable people, but ...

In the middle of the last century, the famous Spanish artist Pablo Picasso uttered a phrase that echoes somewhere in meaning with ours. In his performance, it sounded like this: "There are no irreplaceable, but there are unique."

This expression is more to the liking of those who do not quite agree with the statement that there are no irreplaceable people. In the statement of the great artist, there is agreement that people are replaceable, but there are also such personalities who leave a trace forever and cannot be forgotten. Of course, the planet will not stop spinning with the departure of even the greatest of men. Life will go on, moreover, it will develop, new discoveries will be made. However, the achievements and labors of such people will never be forgotten, and the memory of them will be passed down through the centuries.

Who likes to use the phrase "Irreplaceable people do not exist"

This phrase is very fond of the authorities. If something does not suit an employee, with this phrase the boss can hint that there will be a replacement for the place of any employee. However, in our time, valuable personnel are worth their weight in gold, so specialists are very much appreciated. There are real people with tremendous experience, knowledge and skills. They are really hard to replace. Especially in such important areas as medicine, science, politics and so on. It happens that more than a dozen years will pass before a worthy replacement comes to the place of a gifted doctor, a great scientist or a talented leader.

Conclusion

There are no irreplaceable people. This is true, and not really. This is both good and bad at the same time. The truth is that, no matter how gifted, talented and great a person is, with his departure, life on the planet will not stop. Someone will still pick up the baton and carry it on. And this is good, otherwise the development of mankind would have stopped at some point. And the other side of the coin is that there are people who are still indispensable specifically for someone. With their departure, life loses its meaning, and in this case the phrase “there are no irreplaceable people” causes only bitterness and protest. People may appear in life who will fill in some gaps, but they will still take their place, but not the place of the departed.

Thus, this aphorism in the global sense probably makes sense. However, there are different situations in life, and, perhaps, this phrase will not be appropriate in all cases. Although it also depends on the person. There are people who do not have special attachments, and in their case the aphorism is whatever the circumstances in their lives.

News and Society

“There are no irreplaceable people” - what does this aphorism mean?

November 29, 2016

Probably, each of us has heard the phrase: "There are no irreplaceable people." The aphorism is quite common. Someone agrees with him, and someone can argue about this. Not everyone knows where this expression came from. Who first said it and why did it become so popular? We will try to deal with these and other questions in this article.

Who is the author of the phrase "There are no irreplaceable people"?

In Russia, the authorship of this expression is often attributed to I. V. Stalin. However, in fact, there are no sources that would confirm this fact. The only place where a phrase similar in meaning was heard was his report at the Congress of the CPSU. In it, he mentions "arrogant nobles" who consider themselves irreplaceable, and therefore feel their impunity. Stalin called for the deprivation of such people of their positions, despite all their past merits.

In fact, this expression became so widespread after the election campaign of Wilson, who ran for President of the United States in 1912. However, he was not its author. Wilson borrowed this aphorism from French.

There are no irreplaceable people, but ...

In the middle of the last century, the famous Spanish artist Pablo Picasso uttered a phrase that echoes somewhere in meaning with ours. In his performance, it sounded like this: "There are no irreplaceable, but there are unique."

This expression is more to the liking of those who do not quite agree with the statement that there are no irreplaceable people. In the statement of the great artist, there is agreement that people are replaceable, but there are also such personalities who leave a trace forever and cannot be forgotten. Of course, the planet will not stop spinning with the departure of even the greatest of men. Life will go on, moreover, it will develop, new discoveries will be made. However, the achievements and labors of such people will never be forgotten, and the memory of them will be passed down through the centuries.

Who likes to use the phrase "Irreplaceable people do not exist"

This phrase is very fond of the authorities. If something does not suit an employee, with this phrase the boss can hint that there will be a replacement for the place of any employee. However, in our time, valuable personnel are worth their weight in gold, so specialists are very much appreciated. There are true professionals in their field, with vast experience, knowledge and skills. They are really hard to replace. Especially in such important areas as medicine, science, politics and so on. It happens that more than a dozen years will pass before a worthy replacement comes to the place of a gifted doctor, a great scientist or a talented leader.

Conclusion

There are no irreplaceable people. This is true, and not really. This is both good and bad at the same time. The truth is that, no matter how gifted, talented and great a person is, with his departure, life on the planet will not stop. Someone will still pick up the baton and carry it on. And this is good, otherwise the development of mankind would have stopped at some point. And the other side of the coin is that there are people who are still indispensable specifically for someone. With their departure, life loses its meaning, and in this case the phrase “there are no irreplaceable people” causes only bitterness and protest. People may appear in life who will fill in some gaps, but they will still take their place, but not the place of the departed.

Thus, this aphorism in the global sense probably makes sense. However, there are different situations in life, and, perhaps, this phrase will not be appropriate in all cases. Although it also depends on the person. There are people who do not have special attachments, and in their case the aphorism is an indisputable truth, whatever the circumstances in their lives.

Source: fb.ru

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