It is difficult to find a more famous and debated figure in politics than Winston Churchill. He was one of those who boldly drew a map of the world in the 20th century. But no less than his political activities, people are also interested in the personality of the ruler of England. Churchill's statements on a variety of occasions have long been included in the golden fund of witty aphorisms.
Childhood W. Churchill
The future great politician was born in the aristocratic, privileged family of Lord Henry Spencer in 1874. His mother was the daughter of an American businessman, and his father served as chancellor of the UK Treasury. Winston was brought up in a family estate, but due to the fact that his parents always did not have enough time for him, he mainly stayed with a nanny - Elizabeth Ann Everest. She became his closest friend for many years.
Due to membership in the upper caste of the aristocratic class, Churchill could be denied access to the heights of a political career, since, according to the laws of England, nobles could not enter the country's government. But fortunately, his line was a side branch of the Churchill family, which allowed him to become at the helm.
years of education
During his school years, Churchill proved himself as an obstinate student. Having replaced several educational institutions, nowhere did he differ in diligence. Not wanting to obey strict rules of conduct, the future politician was more than once flogged with rods. But this did not affect his diligence. And only when he was transferred to the army class at Harrow College in 1889, he showed interest in the classes. Having passed all the exams brilliantly, he entered the prestigious military school of England, which he graduated with the rank of junior lieutenant.
Service
However, Churchill did not have to serve as an officer. Realizing that he was not attracted to a military career, he took advantage of his motherâs connections and chose the position of war correspondent. In this role, he went to Cuba, from where he brought his two most famous habits that remained with him for his whole life: an addiction to Cuban cigars and an afternoon siesta. After Cuba, he was sent to India and Egypt, where he very bravely participated in hostilities and earned the fame of a good journalist.
First steps in politics
In 1899, Churchill resigned, deciding to devote himself to political activity. He succeeded in joining the House of Commons on the second attempt. Already an almost national hero, Churchill was captured in South Africa and made a daring escape. He secured this place for 50 years.
Churchill's advancement in the political ladder was swift and brilliant. Within a few years, he became the youngest influential politician in Britain. However, during the First World War, he, heading the Ministry of Military Affairs, twice failed, taking short-sighted steps. But the true ascent to the political Olympus, he was obliged to World War II.
Bright leader
In difficult times, before Hitlerâs attack on Europe, Churchill was asked to take the post of First Lord of the Admiralty, as it was clear that he was the only one who could lead the country to victory. Being an ardent opponent of Bolshevism, Churchill nevertheless entered into a coalition with Stalin and Roosevelt, rightly deciding that Nazism was an even greater evil. Which did not prevent him from leading the anti-Bolshevik party of Europe at the end of the war, calling for the destruction of the "red infection" that threatens the integrity of the European world.
However, in the early postwar years, England was preoccupied with economic problems. She needed wise politicians who could lead the country out of the crisis, and people were just tired of aggressive calls for arms. As a result, Churchill was defeated in the elections and decided to retire.
Churchill - writer
Churchillâs aphoristic remarks indicate that he had remarkable literary talent. Not surprisingly, he owns several books. While still an officer in India, he began to write his first work, published under the title "River War." He described the beginning of his career in the books My Journey to Africa and The Beginning of My Life. Churchill's work The World Crisis, on which he worked for about eight years, was published in six volumes.
A ten-year hiatus in his political career, when he lost the election to the Conservatives in 1929, the future prime minister whiled away while writing a four-volume biography of his ancestor, Marlborough: His Life and Time. The History of World War II was published in six volumes and was criticized for the poorly composed second volume and the weak fifth compared to the previous ones. Finally, Churchill devoted the last years of his life to writing a grandiose work, The History of English-Speaking Peoples, whose main theme was war and politics.
Churchill's famous sayings
Despite his vibrant political activity, Churchill is best known for his sharp tongue and typically English humor. Many of his statements are controversial, some are too categorical. But one thing is certain - they all deserve to get to know them. Churchill's statements about politics, about life and about war are cited in many sources. In terms of capacity and accuracy of the message, they most closely resemble the statements of other famous British - Mark Twain and Bernard Shaw.
Life wisdom
Churchill's statements about life can be taken into service as an example of stunning rationalism. When asked how he could survive to such an age (and he died at the age of 91) and maintain such a clear and sober mind, despite his bad habits, he replied that the secret was simple: he just never stands when you can sit , and does not sit when you can lie. From a happy life in a marriage that lasted 57 years, he learned the sober truth that it is easier to manage a nation than raise four children (and he had five of them).
Political and military aphorisms
Before becoming Prime Minister, Churchill was known in England for his anti-militaristic statements. He always bluntly stated that a country could not escape a war if it wanted to become strong and independent. Churchillâs statements about the war are often related to politics, such as this: âYou can be killed only once in a war, in politics there are many.â Nevertheless, the great politician understood the senselessness of this massacre when he said that war is for the most part a catalog of gross errors.
Political aphorisms are also no less famous. Everyone is familiar with Churchillâs statement about democracy, in which he calls it the worst form of government, except for the rest. But he did not respect voters. Here is a prime example: âThe best argument against democracy is a short conversation with the average voter.â
Was there a plow?
Churchillâs famous statement about Stalin that he accepted the country with a plow, and left with an atomic bomb, is unknown only to the child, and his authorship has never been called into question. Is it not surprising that Churchill, who fought fiercely against Bolshevism all his life, suddenly spoke with such reverence about his main leader? It is known that Churchill spoke about Stalin about 8 times, of which 5 times - disapprovingly. The first mention of this phrase appeared in print in 1988, when the newspaper Sovetskaya Rossiya published a letter to N. Andreeva, in which she sings a laudatory ode to the wise helmsman.
After that, the phrase was picked up by a variety of people, and it swept through the world, spreading confusion in the anti-Stalinist camp. In fact, if it is fanatical to serve the truth, there is no such phrase of Churchill about Stalin. In his speech to the House of Commons on September 8, 1942, the Prime Minister gives a much more neutral, albeit generally very respectful, characterization of Stalin. He notes his outstanding qualities as a leader, and, most importantly, so necessary now for the country. The phrase about the plow and the atomic bomb is the collective work of the translator of this speech (very broadly adorned her with the words âgreatâ, âgeniusâ and âmostâ). Something similar is also found in the article by I. Deutscher (although he also has not a âbombâ, but a ânuclear reactorâ).
Churchill's statements about Russia
Churchill's dislike of Bolshevism is well known, although very peculiar. During the war, he constantly emphasized his admiration for the feat of the Russian people in the fight against the Nazis, and also paid tribute to the leadership qualities of Stalin. Although in general, his attitude towards socialism was disapproving. Many of Churchillâs statements are very perspicacious, for example, where he says that both capitalism and socialism cannot avoid inequality, only the first is in welfare, and the second is in poverty. About the Bolsheviks, he said that they themselves create difficulties for themselves, which they later successfully overcome. But in the absence of true democracy in Russia, he saw the main reason why it could not become a strong power.
Later, in his book âHow I Fought with Russia,â Churchill wrote that power in the USSR was strikingly blind to its own position in a country that was never as strong as it seemed to it and as weak as some thought.
Churchill's statements can be published in a separate book - the circulation will go in a matter of minutes. One can only envy his love of life, a sober attitude to reality. Often, like many great people, Churchill's statements are paradoxical, but even more often they hit directly on target. Such short mantras help to sober up the consciousness from the dominance in it of banality and routine.