"Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you!"

This was spoken by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in a 1959 speech to Western leaders, including Dwight D. Eisenhower. Khrushchev had been invited to speak as a sign of goodwill for new relations between the West and the Soviet Union. Unfortunately for Krushchev, his translator was unfamiliar with the Russian phrase "We will bury you", which in context means "We will outlive you", and translated it literally. With the political climate of the day, the Western leaders whom he was speaking to took this as a threat to their countries and democracy everywhere.

Khrushchev later clarified his translator's error by stating, "I once said 'We will bury you,' and I got into trouble with it. Of course we will not bury you with a shovel. Your own working class will bury you."

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