In his immediate surroundings almost nobody likes him. His power is based on fear, not on attachment. Everybody
shivers in his presence. At the many conferences he usually remains silent, lets the others speak, and attentively listens
to them, scrutinizing all their hidden thoughts; afterwards, vouchsafing no discussion, he gives an order, dictates a resolution which changes something in the destinies of millions. While he does it he smiles, always with the same motionless smile. There was a time when he liked to talk, loud and harshly, or when he used to laugh often. Now he is a different man. Now his smile is nothing but a mask. He alone knows the whole truth about himself. He knows how crushing are the present days, how bruising the permanent, never ceasing struggle, and how ephemeral and how small, compared to the sacrifices, all his victories