Orwellian

I was not surprised to see "1984" amongst the top-10 best selling books at Schiphol Airport.  One hears "Orwellian" used in so many different contexts so I thought it would be useful to look it up - this yielded a few surprising outcomes; this quotation being one of the more insightful:

"The next time you hear someone say ‘Orwellian,'” says (Noah) Tavlin, “pay close attention. If they’re talking about the deceptive and manipulative use of language, they’re on the right track. If they’re talking about mass surveillance and intrusive government, they’re describing something authoritarian, but not necessarily Orwellian. And if they use it as an all-purpose word for any ideas they dislike, it’s possible that their statements are more Orwellian than whatever it is they’re criticizing” — an outcome Orwell himself might well have foreseen."  Openculture.com

And back to 1917 in Russia, the revolution takes over in Moscow:
"Military units and automobiles had already materialised, together with sinister-looking, revolver-wielding, long-haired types – and girls of a corresponding appearance. The Kremlin was taken almost without a single shot being fired, and, come evening, Moscow found itself in the hands of the revolutionary authorities."
Sergei Bulgakov, Russian Orthodox theologian, philisopher, economist, later exiled by the new communist government.