# Help finding a Quote of J. Stalin

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-finding-a-quote-of-j-stalin/85475>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [October 5, 2001, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-finding-a-quote-of-j-stalin/85475 "2001-10-05T00:21:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Osip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4491bb/32.png) [@Osip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Osip)\
**Post date:** [October 5, 2001, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-finding-a-quote-of-j-stalin/85475/1 "2001-10-05T00:21:00Z")

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Hi, I am only guessing this goes here being a quote.  
In Martin Cruz Smith’s Book “Polar Star” The main Character Arkady Renko quotes “Happiness is the maximum agreement of reality and desire.” Then claimed that Stalin had said these lines. Anyone have a clue as to where or when Stalin said such a thing if at all?  
suggestions?  
comments?  
Directions of where to go and how to get there for wasting your time asking such an obsure question?

thanks,  
Osip

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**Author:** ![Tenebras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@Tenebras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenebras)\
**Post date:** [October 5, 2001, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-finding-a-quote-of-j-stalin/85475/2 "2001-10-05T00:41:52Z")

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I ran a few searches on Google, and I found some guy who uses that exact quote as his sig line, which isn’t really helpful. You might want to email him, though. (Just put the quote in quotation marks from Google. He’s the only result)

When I tried searching based on Joseph Stalin and any of the words in the quote, I didn’t find anything even resembling that. Sorry. It could be that I missed it, or maybe nobody in Google’s search directory ever cited it. I’ll ask a Russian friend tonight, she may have heard of it or could offer some good suggestions. Otherwise don’t know.

Good luck, though.