"This scepticism is the same scepticism I heard a generation ago in the USSR when few thought that a democratic transformation behind the iron curtain was possible"

In this quote, Natan Sharansky is reviewing the scepticism he came across in the USSR throughout his time there. He compares it to the scepticism he is currently dealing with, recommending that it is similar to what he experienced in the past. Sharansky specifically discusses the absence of belief in a democratic transformation behind the iron drape, which refers to the Soviet Union's rigorous control over its people and their absence of flexibility. By mentioning this, Sharansky is highlighting the doubts and disbelief that surrounded the concept of a democratic society in a country understood for its authoritarian rule. He is also implying that simply as people questioned the possibility of modification in the USSR, there are those who doubt the possibility of modification in today. In general, Sharansky's quote talks to the resilience and decision needed to challenge and get rid of scepticism in the pursuit of development and change.