It&#x27;s a Russian proverb[1] made famous by Ronald Reagan during the cold war.<p>Offtopic: before today, I was unaware of the (alleged) Russian roots of the statement and assumed Reagan coined it.<p>1. <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Trust,_but_verify" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Trust,_but_verify</a>