How Many Divisions Does the Pope Have? Quiz

Answer: Gaiety

In 2012 a contemporary exhibition of former Soviet art held at the Saatchi Gallery in London took its title from a 1935 speech by Stalin. Rather than gaiety, it showcased despair, dark humour and irony. The actual quote seems to have been: 'Life has improved, comrades. Life has become more joyous.'

Answer: Gratitude

Found in "The Memoirs of former Stalin's secretary" (1992) by Boris Bazhanov. What did he mean? One interpretation is that to feel gratitude is to make you a slave (or dog) of that person.

Answer: Revolution

In other words, you need to get your hands dirty if you want change. A similar quote is attributed to Vladimir Lenin.

Answer: Engineer

Stalin is said to have used this one in 1932 however it seems that he was quoting with approval the Russian novelist Yuri Olesha. Olesha is recorded as having used the phrase in an earlier meeting with Stalin.

Answer: Weapon

Another paraphrased quoted. The original appears in a speech made by Stalin at the Twelfth Congress of the Russian Communist Party in 1923, namely: "The press must grow day in and day out - it is our Party's sharpest and most powerful weapon".

Answer: Death

Attributed to Stalin, this appears in "Children of the Arbat" (1987) by Anatoly Rybakov. Rybakov admits in one of his last books "The Novel of Memoirs" that he had no sources for the quote.

Answer: Power

Although attributed by some to Stalin, perhaps this is a variant of Mao Zedong's 1927 quote: "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun". By this Mao meant that armed struggle was necessary in order to take political control.

Answer: Statistic

There are a number of variations of this quote and a number of sources pointing to Stalin as the originator. One version has this as his response to an objection raised by Winston Churchill during the 1943 Tehran Conference.

Answer: Courage

Stalin is reported to have said this to Averrel Harriman, then US Ambassador to the Soviet Union. This probably refers to Order No. 227 issued by Stalin in July 1942. The order is known for its line: "Not a step back!" and became a symbol of Soviet resistance to the German invasion.

The order created penal battalions sent to the most dangerous parts of the front lines, with barrier troops placed behind the front lines to shoot unauthorised retreating troops. This mirrored similar units created by the invading Germans.

Answer: Diplomat

This comes from a 1913 speech "The Elections in St Petersburg". It is part of a paragraph whose theme is set by the first sentence, namely: "When bourgeois diplomats prepare for war they begin to shout very loudly about 'peace' and 'friendly relations'" and ends with the quoted words.