Daily Inspiration Quote by Harrison Salisbury

“Impenetrable secrecy” is a journalist’s way of admitting defeat while still landing a punch. Salisbury isn’t just describing the Kremlin as private; he’s framing it as a system engineered to resist knowledge itself. The phrase “shrouded” does double duty: it evokes a literal covering and a funeral veil, hinting that whatever happens inside is not merely hidden but potentially lethal to truth, to accountability, sometimes to people. “Life within” matters, too. He’s not talking about policy debates in the abstract; he’s implying a total environment, an enclosed habitat where power shapes daily existence and where visibility is a threat.

The intent is diagnostic. For a Western reporter covering the Soviet Union, the Kremlin wasn’t simply a building; it was a story-making machine that controlled inputs (information) and outputs (official narratives). By calling the secrecy “impenetrable,” Salisbury gestures at the asymmetry between state power and public understanding: the regime sets the terms of reality, while outsiders are left reading tea leaves - personnel changes, staged photographs, rumors.

Subtext: secrecy is not incidental; it’s governance. Authoritarian politics thrives on opacity because opacity prevents rival centers of authority from forming and keeps citizens guessing about the rules. In that sense, the Kremlin’s secrecy isn’t just about protecting state secrets; it’s about producing fear, loyalty, and dependency. Salisbury’s line also flatters the reader’s skepticism: if you feel you don’t know what’s going on, that confusion is the point.