What the Russian Revolution would have looked like on social media | Mikhail Zygar

Translator: Polona Ramšak Reviewer: Nika Kotnik

What is history?

Kaj je zgodovina?

It is something written by the winners.

Nekaj, kar napišejo zmagovalci.

There is a stereotype that history should be focused on the rulers,

Obstaja stereotip, da bi se zgodovina morala osredotočati na voditelje,

like Lenin or Trotsky.

kot sta Lenin ali Trotsky.

As a result, people in many countries, like mine, Russia,

Posledično ljudje v mnogih državah, kot je moja, Rusija,

look at history as something that was predetermined

gledajo na zgodovino kot na nekaj, kar je vnaprej določeno

or determined by the leaders,

ali nekaj, na kar vplivajo voditelji,

and common people could not influence it in any way.

navadni ljudje pa na to nimajo nobenega vpliva.

Many Russians today do not believe that Russia could ever have been

Mnogi Rusi dandanes ne verjamejo, da bi Rusjia lahko kadar koli bila

or ever will be a truly democratic nation,

ali kadar koli bo resnično demokratična dežela,

and this is due to the way history has been framed

to pa zaradi načina, na katerega se zgodovino prikazuje

to the citizens of Russia.

državljanom Rusije.

And this is not true.

In to ni res.

To prove it, I spent two years of my life trying to go 100 years back,

Da bi to dokazal, sem dve leti svojega življenja poskušal iti 100 let nazaj,

to the year 1917,

v leto 1917,

the year of the Russian Revolution.

leto ruske revolucije.

I asked myself, what if the internet and Facebook existed 100 years ago?

Vprašal sem se, kako bi bilo, če bi pred 100 leti obstajala internet in Facebook.

So last year, we built a social network for dead people,

Tako smo lani vzpostavili družbeno omrežje za mrtve ljudi

named Project1917.com.

in projekt imenovali Project1917.com.

My team and I created our software,

Moj tim in jaz smo ustvarili programsko opremo,

digitized and uploaded all possible real diaries and letters

digitalizirali in naložili vse mogoče resnične dnevnike in pisma,

written by more than 3,000 people

ki jih je napisalo več kot 3000 ljudi

100 years ago.

pred 100 leti.

So any user of our website or application

Tako lahko vsak uporabnik naše spletne strani ali aplikacije

can follow a news feed for each day of 1917

sledi novicam za vsak dan leta 1917

and read what people like Stravinsky or Trotsky,

in bere, kaj so ljudje, na primer Stravinsky in Trotsky,

Lenin or Pavlova and others thought and felt.

Lenin ali Pavlova in drugi, razmišljali in čutili.

We watch all those personalities being ordinary people like you and me,

Gledamo vse te osebnosti, kot navadne ljudi, kot vi ali jaz,

not demigods,

ne polbogove,

and we see that history consists of their mistakes, fears, weaknesses,

in vidimo, da zgodovina sestoji iz njihovih napak, strahov, slabosti,

not only their "genius ideas."

ne le iz njihovh 'genialnih idej'.

Our project was a shock for many Russians,

Naš projekt je bil šokanten za mnoge Ruse,

who used to think that our country has always been an autocratic empire

ki so včasih mislili, da je bila naša država vedno avtokratski imperij

and the ideas of freedom and democracy could never have prevailed,

in da ideje o svobodi in demokraciji nikoli ne bi mogli prevladati,

just because democracy was not our destiny.

ker demokracija preprosto ni bila naša usoda.

But if we take a broader look,

A če pogledamo širše,

it's not that black and white.

ni tako črno-belo.

Yes, 1917 led to 70 years of communist dictatorship.

Da, leto 1917 je privedlo do 70 let komunistične diktature.

But with this project, we see that Russia could have had a different history

A s tem projektom vidimo, da bi Rusija lahko imela drugačno zgodovino

and a democratic future, as any other country could or still can.

in demokratično prihodnost, kot so jo lahko in še vedno imajo druge države.

Reading the posts from 1917,

Ob branju besedil iz leta 1917

you learn that Russia was the first country in the world

spoznamo, da je bila Rusija prva država na svetu,

to abolish the death penalty,

ki je odpravila smrtno kazen,

or one of the first ones to grant women voting rights.

in ena od prvih, ki je ženskam podelila volino pravico.

Knowing history and understanding how ordinary people influenced history

Poznavanje zgodovine in razumevanje, kako so navadni ljudje vplivali nanjo,

can help us create a better future,

nam lahko pomaga ustvariti boljšo prihodnost,

because history is just a rehearsal of what's happening right now.

ker je zgodovina samo vaja za to, kar se dogaja prav zdaj.

We do need new ways of telling history,

Potrebujemo nove načine za pripovedovanje zgodovine

and this year, for example,

in letos smo na primer

we started a new online project that is called 1968Digital.com,

začeli novi spletni projekt, ki se imenuje 1968Digital.com.

and that is an online documentary series

Gre za spletno dokumentarno serijo,

that gives you an impression of that year, 1968,

ki vam daje občutek tistega leta, 1968,

a year marked by global social change

leta, ki so ga zaznamovale globalne družbene spremembe,

that, in many ways, created the world as we know it now.

ki so na razne načine ustvarile svet, kot ga danes poznamo.

But we are making that history alive

A zgodovino oživljamo,

by imagining what if all the main characters could use mobile phones ...

ko si predstavljamo, kaj bi bilo, če bi vsi protagonisti lahko uporabljali

just like that?

mobilne telefone.

And we see that a lot of individuals

In vidimo, da se je veliko posameznikov

were facing the same challenges and were fighting for the same values,

soočalo z enakimi izzivi in se borilo za iste vrednote,

no matter if they lived in the US or in USSR

ne glede na to, ali so živeli v ZDA ali ZSSR,

or in France or in China or in Czechoslovakia.

v Franciji, na Kitajskem ali na Čehoslovaškem.

By exposing history in such a democratic way,

Z izpostavljanjem zgodovine na tako demokratičen način

through social media,

skozi družbene medije

we show that people in power are not the only ones making choices.

kažemo, da ljudje na oblasti niso edini, ki odločajo.

That gives any user a possibility of reclaiming history.

To daje vsakemu uporabniku možnost, da zahteva zgodovino zase.

Ordinary people matter.

Navadni ljudje so pomembni.

They have an impact.

Imajo vpliv.

Ideas matter.

Ideje so pomembne.

Journalists, scientists, philosophers matter.

Novinarji, znanstveniki, filozofi so pomembni.

We shape society.

Mi oblikujemo družbo.

We all make history.

Mi vsi ustvarjamo zgodovino.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(aplavz)