万花筒 2009-01-03&01-04 最伟大的俄国人：斯大林排

Russia’s Communist Party still remembers Joseph Stalin, and so it seems to many other Russians. The Soviet¹ dictator, who was responsible for millions of deaths during his thirty-year rule, has just come third in a poll of great Russians. Around 50 million people, that’s almost one in three Russians, voted in the "Name of Russia" contest, organized by state TV. For the final, 12 people were short listed. Prince Alexandra Nevsky won the most votes for defeating German invaders² in the 13th century, while Pyotr Stolypin, Prime Minster in the early 20th century came second. But it was Stalin’s third place which attracted the most attention.

 

"Stalin’s name should not be listed in this contest. I feel ashamed for the country, which’s killed one third of its population."

 

"I think Stalin doesn’t merit that place in the contest. There were positive things, but there were a lot more horrible things done. I like Suvorov. Nevsky is also good."

 

Stalin supporters like to talk about how he defeated Nazi³ Germany, industrialized the Soviet Union, and achieved total literacy in a largely-peasants nation. They often fail to mention the millions who died from famine during forced collectivization, and those who died in the Gulag hard labor⁴ camps. Things have changed since Stalin’s death in 1953, but many Russians say a whiff of (1) Stalinism remains⁵. Earlier this month a human rights organization claims it had its archive of Stalin atrocities⁶ (2) taken away by police. He may be dead, but he is clearly not forgotten.

 

Sonia Legg, Reuters

 

1 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

2 invaders   

入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They prepared to repel the invaders. 他们准备赶走侵略军。
• The family has traced its ancestry to the Norman invaders. 这个家族将自己的世系追溯到诺曼征服者。

3 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

4 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》