History vs. Vladimir Lenin - Alex Gendler

Translator: Data Brainanta Reviewer: Ade Indarta

He was one of the most influential figures

Ia salah satu tokoh paling berpengaruh

of the 20th century,

pada abad ke-20,

forever changing the course

selamanya mengubah haluan

of one of the world's largest countries.

salah satu negeri terbesar di dunia.

But was he a hero

Tapi apakah ia pahlawan

who toppled an oppressive tyranny

yang menggulingkan tirani penindas

or a villain who replaced it with another?

atau penjahat mengganti tirani sebelumnya?

It's time to put Lenin on the stand

Saatnya mengadili Lenin

in History vs. Lenin.

dalam Sejarah vs Lenin

"Order, order, hmm.

"Tertib, tertib, hmm.

Now, wasn't it your fault that the band broke up?"

Kau penyebab band, The Beatles, bubar?"

"Your honor, this is Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov,

"Yang mulia, ini Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov"

AKA Lenin, the rabblerouser

Alias Lenin, sang penggerak massa

who helped overthrow the Russian tsar Nicholas II in 1917

yang turut menggulingkan tsar Rusia Nikolai II pada 1917

and founded the Soviet Union,

dan mendirikan Uni Soviet

one of the worst dictatorships of the 20th century."

salah satu kediktatoran terburuk abad ke-20"

"Ohh."

"Ohh."

"The tsar was a bloody tyrant

"Tsar seorang tiran yang kejam

under whom the masses toiled in slavery."

di bawah kekuasaannya, rakyat kerja dalam perbudakan."

"This is rubbish.

"Ini sampah.

Serfdom had already been abolished in 1861."

Perbudakan sudah dihapus pada 1861."

"And replaced by something worse.

"Diganti dengan yang lebih buruk.

The factory bosses treated the people

Pemilik pabrik memperlakukan rakyat

far worse than their former feudal landlords.

jauh lebih buruk dari tuan tanah feodal sebelumnya

And unlike the landlords,

Dan tak seperti tuan tanah

they were always there.

mereka selalu di sana

Russian workers toiled for eleven hours a day

Buruh di Rusia bekerja sebelas jam sehari

and were the lowest paid in all of Europe."

dan upahnya terendah di seluruh Eropa."

"But Tsar Nicholas made laws to protect the workers."

"Tapi Tsar Nikolai membuat hukum yang melindungi buruh."

"He reluctantly did the bare minimum to avert revolution,

"Ia sungkan, sekadar memenuhi tuntutan minimum untuk menghindari revolusi

and even there, he failed.

dan itu pun ia gagal.

Remember what happened in 1905

Ingat yang terjadi pada 1905

after his troops fired on peaceful petitioners?"

setelah pasukannya menembaki pengusung petisi yang damai?"

"Yes, and the tsar ended the rebellion

"Ya, dan tsar akhiri pemberontakan itu

by introducing a constitution

dengan menghadirkan konstitusi

and an elected parliament, the Duma."

dan parlemen terpilih bernama Duma"

"While retaining absolute power and dissolving them

"Sambil mempertahankan kekuasaan absolut dan membubarkan mereka

whenever he wanted."

sekehendak hatinya."

"Perhaps there would've been more reforms in due time

"Mungkin akan ada banyak reformasi pada saatnya

if radicals, like Lenin,

bila orang radikal seperti Lenin

weren't always stirring up trouble."

tidak membuat masalah."

"Your Honor, Lenin had seen his older brother Aleksandr

"Yang Mulia, Lenin melihat sendiri kakaknya, Aleksander

executed by the previous tsar for revolutionary activity,

dieksekusi oleh tsar sebelumnya karena aktivitas revolusioner

and even after the reforms,

dan bahkan setelah reformasi,

Nicholas continued the same mass repression and executions,

Nikolai melanjutkan represi massa dan eksekusi yang sama

as well as the unpopular involvement

maupun keterlibatannya yang tak populer

in World War I,

dalam Perang Dunia I,

that cost Russia so many lives and resources."

mengorbankan begitu banyak jiwa dan harta bagi Rusia

"Hm, this tsar doesn't sound like

"Hm, tsar ini kedengarannya

such a capital fellow."

bukan lelaki yang baik."

"Your Honor, maybe Nicholas II did doom himself

"Yang Mulia, mungkin Nikolai II menjerumuskan dirinya

with bad decisions,

dengan keputusan buruk,

but Lenin deserves no credit for this.

tapi Lenin tak punya andil di sini.

When the February 1917 uprisings

Saat pemberontakan Februari 1917

finally forced the tsar to abdicate,

akhirnya memaksa tsar turun

Lenin was still exiled in Switzerland."

Lenin masih dalam pengasingan di Swiss

"Hm, so who came to power?"

"Hm, jadi siapa yang berkuasa?"

"The Duma formed a provisional government,

"Duma membentuk pemerintahan sementara

led by Alexander Kerensky,

yang dipimpin Alexander Kerensky,

an incompetent bourgeois failure.

seorang borjuis gagal dan tak kompeten

He even launched another failed offensive in the war,

Ia bahkan kembali melakukan serangan yang gagal dalam perang,

where Russia had already lost so much,

padahal Rusia sudah banyak kalah

instead of ending it like the people wanted."

bukannya menghentikannya seperti keinginan rakyat."

"It was a constitutional social democratic government,

"Itu pemerintahan konstitusional demokratik sosial,

the most progressive of its time.

paling progresif pada masanya.

And it could have succeeded eventually

Dan ia bisa berhasil pada akhirnya

if Lenin hadn't returned in April,

bila Lenin tidak kembali di bulan April

sent by the Germans to undermine the Russian war effort

dikirim oleh Jerman untuk merongrong upaya perang Rusia

and instigate riots."

dan memicu kerusuhan."

"Such slander!

"Fitnah!

The July Days were a spontaneous and justified reaction

Kerusuhan bulan Juli adalah reaksi yang wajar dan spontan

against the government's failures.

menentang kegagalan pemerintah

And Kerensky showed his true colors

Dan Kerensky menujukkan warna aslinya

when he blamed Lenin

saat menyalahkan Lenin

and arrested and outlawed his Bolshevik party,

dan menahan dan melarang partai Bolsheviknya

forcing him to flee into exile again.

memaksanya untuk lari ke pengasingan lagi

Some democracy!

Demokrasi macam apa!

It's a good thing the government collapsed

Baguslah pemerintahan runtuh

under their own incompetence and greed

akibat ketakmampuan dan ketamakan mereka sendiri

when they tried to stage a military coup

saat mereka mencoba kudeta militer

then had to ask the Bolsheviks for help

namun minta pertolongan Bolshevik

when it backfired.

saat gagal.

After that, all Lenin had to do

Setelah itu, Lenin hanya perlu kembali

was return in October and take charge.

saat Oktober dan mengambil alih

The government was peacefully overthrown overnight."

Pemerintahan digulingkan dengan damai dalam semalam

"But what the Bolsheviks did

"Tapi yang dilakukan Boslhevik

after gaining power

setelah berkuasa

wasn't very peaceful.

tidaklah damai.

How many people did they execute without trial?

Berapa banyak dihukum mati tanpa diadili?

And was it really necessary

Dan apakah keharusan

to murder the tsar's entire family, even the children?"

membunuh Tsar sekeluarga, bahkan anaknya?"

"Russia was being attacked by foreign imperialists,

"Rusia diserang kekuatan imperialis asing,

trying to restore the tsar.

yang berupaya mengembalikan tsar

Any royal heir that was rescued

Tiap keturunan raja yang selamat

would be recognized as ruler by foreign governments.

akan diakui sebagai penguasa oleh pemerintah asing

It would've been the end

Itu akan jadi akhir

of everything the people had fought so hard to achieve.

dari semua yang diperjuangkan rakyat.

Besides, Lenin may not have given the order."

Lagipula, mungkin bukan perintah Lenin."

"But it was not only imperialists

"Tapi bukan cuma imperialis

that the Bolsheviks killed.

yang dibunuh Bolshevik

What about the purges and executions

Bagaimana dengan pembersihan dan eksekusi

of other socialist and anarchist parties,

terhadap partai sosialis dan anarkis lain,

their old allies?

sekutu lama mereka?

What about the Tambov Rebellion,

Bagaimana dengan Pemberontakan Tambov,

where peasants, resisting grain confiscation,

saat petani menentang penyitaan gabah

were killed with poison gas?

dibunuh dengan gas beracun?

Or sending the army

Atau mengirim tentara

to crush the workers in Kronstadt,

untuk menumpas buruh di Kronstadt,

who were demanding democratic self-management?

yang menuntut swa-kelola demokratis?

Was this still fighting for the people?"

Apa ini masih berjuang untuk rakyat?"

"Yes! The measures were difficult,

"Ya! Itu tindakan yang sulit,

but it was a difficult time.

tapi masa itu sulit.

The new government needed to secure itself

Pemerintahan baru perlu melindungi diri

while being attacked from all sides,

dari serangan segala penjuru

so that the socialist order could be established."

agar tatanan sosialis dapat terbangun."

"And what good came of this socialist order?

"Dan apa manfaat tatanan sosialis ini?

Even after the civil war was won,

Setelah menang perang saudara pun,

there were famines, repression

terjadi kelaparan, represi

and millions executed or sent to die in camps,

dan jutaan dieksekusi atau mati di kamp,

while Lenin's successor Stalin established

sementara penerus Lenin, Stalin, membuat

a cult of personality and absolute power."

kultus individu dan kekuasaan absolut."

"That wasn't the plan.

"Itu tak direncanakan

Lenin never cared for personal gains,

Lenin tak peduli keuntungan pribadi

even his enemies admitted

bahkan musuhnya mengakui bahwa

that he fully believed in his cause,

ia meyakini penuh perjuangannya

living modestly and working tirelessly

hidup sederhana dan kerja tanpa lelah

from his student days until his too early death.

sejak masa pelajar hingga kematiannya yang terlalu cepat

He saw how power-hungry Stalin was

Ia melihat betapa Stalin haus kuasa

and tried to warn the party,

dan coba memperingatkan partai

but it was too late."

tapi sudah terlambat."

"And the decades of totalitarianism that followed after?"

"Dan berdekade totaliterianisme setelahnya?"

"You could call it that,

"Kau bisa bilang itu,

but it was Lenin's efforts that changed Russia

tapi upaya Lenin-lah yang mengubah Rusia

in a few decades

dalam beberapa dekade saja

from a backward and undeveloped monarchy

dari monarki terbelakang dan tak berkembang

full of illiterate peasants

dipenuhi petani buta huruf

to a modern, industrial superpower,

menjadi adidaya modern industrial

with one of the world's best educated populations,

dengan penduduk yang termasuk paling berpendidikan di dunia

unprecedented opportunities for women,

kesempatan yang belum pernah ada bagi wanita

and some of the most important scientific advancements

menghasilkan sejumlah kemajuan ilmu pengetahuan

of the century.

yang terpenting dalam seabad

Life may not have been luxurious,

Kehidupan mungkin tidak mewah

but nearly everyone had a roof over their head

tapi hampir semua memiliki atap di atasnya

and food on their plate,

dan makanan di piringnya

which few countries have achieved."

yang dicapai hanya oleh sedikit negeri

"But these advances could still have happened,

"Tapi kemajuan ini masih dapat terjadi

even without Lenin

bahkan tanpa Lenin

and the repressive regime he established."

dan rezim represif yang didirikannya."

"Yes, and I could've been a famous rock and roll singer.

"Ya, aku pun bisa jadi penyanyi rock n roll terkenal.

But how would I have sounded?"

Tapi seperti apa aku terdengarnya?"

We can never be sure how things could've unfolded

Kita tak pernah bisa yakin apa yang akan terjadi

if different people were in power

bila yang berkuasa orang berbeda

or different decisions were made,

atau keputusan yang dibuat berbeda

but to avoid the mistakes of the past,

tapi untuk menghindari kesalahan masa lalu

we must always be willing

kita harus selalu siap

to put historical figures on trial.

menempatkan tokoh sejarah untuk diadili.