20 Things You Didn't Know About Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
16. It Is Better To Die On Your Feet Than To Live On Your Knees
The assassination of Chancellor Gorkon is followed by the ascension of Azetbur, his daughter, to the chancellorship. She pushes for the peace talks to continue, though she receives opposition from those closest. While Chang is obviously a part of the conspiracy to disrupt the talks, not every person in the room is party to this.
Three Klingons face Azetbur. One is Kerla, who stands beside her, though is not above suggesting armed retribution. Of the other two, one is seen sitting on the Bird-of-Prey with Chang over Khitomer, while the third - that same Klingon who so thoroughly disgusted Uhura over dinner - speaks the line:
Better to die on our feet than live on our knees.
This quote is attributed to several historical figures, though most often to Emiliano Zapata, the Mexican revolutionary, who was assassinated by President Carranza in 1919. Zapata had started a revolution to push forward land reform in Mexico, though had been consistently let down by his would-be allies. His quote supported the idea of dying for one's beliefs, rather than sacrificing them to live under the new rule.
It is unclear how many Klingons were to express this ideal, though it adds a third element to the political parties in Star Trek VI.