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

翻译人员: Carol Wang 校对人员: Haoliang Chen

What is history?

历史是什么？

It is something written by the winners.

历史是由胜利者书写而成的。

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

这是一种固有观念， 认为历史的主角应该是统治者，

like Lenin or Trotsky.

比如列宁，或托洛茨基。

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

因此，许多国家的人民， 像我的国家俄罗斯，

look at history as something that was predetermined

认为历史是预先确定的，

or determined by the leaders,

或是由领导者决定的，

而普通人无论如何 都无法影响历史。

and common people could not influence it in any way.

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

现在的许多俄罗斯人

不相信俄罗斯曾经是 或将会是一个真正的民主国家，

or ever will be a truly democratic nation,

因为俄罗斯人民所了解的历史

and this is due to the way history has been framed

是被精心设计过的，

to the citizens of Russia.

And this is not true.

但这并非真实的历史。

为证明这一点，我花两年时间 试图回到 100 年前，

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

to the year 1917,

回到 1917 年，

俄国革命的那一年。

the year of the Russian Revolution.

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

我问自己，假设100年前 就有互联网和脸书，会怎样呢？

于是，我们在去年为这些逝者 创建了一个社交网站：

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

named Project1917.com.

名为 Project1917.com。

My team and I created our software,

我和我的团队通过编写软件,

digitized and uploaded all possible real diaries and letters

将 100 年前由 3000 余人写的

真实日记和信件尽可能多的数字化，

written by more than 3,000 people

100 years ago.

然后上传到网站。

So any user of our website or application

如此一来，我们的网站用户 以及应用程序的用户

可以根据 1917 年的每日新闻提要,

can follow a news feed for each day of 1917

and read what people like Stravinsky or Trotsky,

阅读斯特拉文斯基 或托洛茨基、

Lenin or Pavlova and others thought and felt.

列宁或帕夫洛娃等人的 想法和感受。

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

我们看到了那些名人 作为普通人的一面，就像你我，

not demigods,

而不是神化的人；

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

我们可以看到，历史里的他们 有错误、 恐惧和弱点，

not only their "genius ideas."

而不仅仅是他们的“天才的想法”。

Our project was a shock for many Russians,

我们这个网站项目 让许多俄罗斯人大为震惊,

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

他们曾认为我们国家 一直是专制的帝国,

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

自由和民主的思想绝不可能占上风,

just because democracy was not our destiny.

仅仅是因为我们国家 注定不适合民主。

But if we take a broader look,

但是，如果把眼界放宽一些，

it's not that black and white.

就知道事情并不是非黑即白。

Yes, 1917 led to 70 years of communist dictatorship.

没错，1917 的俄国革命导致了 随后 70 年的共产主义专政，

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

但通过这个项目，我们看到俄罗斯 本来可能有一个不同的历史

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

和民主的未来， 就像任何其他国家一样。

Reading the posts from 1917,

读一下 1917 年的那些帖子，

你就会知道俄罗斯是世界上第一个

you learn that Russia was the first country in the world

废除死刑的国家，

to abolish the death penalty,

也是第一个赋予妇女投票权的国家。

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

Knowing history and understanding how ordinary people influenced history

了解历史，以及 了解普通人对历史的影响，

can help us create a better future,

可以帮助我们 创造一个更加美好的未来，

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

因为历史只是 对当下正在发生的事情的预演，

We do need new ways of telling history,

我们确实需要 用新的方式来复述历史。

and this year, for example,

例如，今年，

我们开始了一个新的在线项目： 名为 1968Digital.com，

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

and that is an online documentary series

这是一个在线纪录片系列，

that gives you an impression of that year, 1968,

它带你回顾了 1968 年，

a year marked by global social change

这一年里的全球社会变化，

从多个方面创造了 我们所熟知的这个世界。

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

But we are making that history alive

但是我们通过想象，

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

如果所有的主角都能 使用手机，让那段历史

just like that?

再次鲜活起来呢？

And we see that a lot of individuals

我们看到很多人

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

都面临同样的挑战， 他们为同样的价值观而奋斗，

no matter if they lived in the US or in USSR

不论他们是住在美国， 或是住在苏联，

or in France or in China or in Czechoslovakia.

在法国，或是在中国， 或是在捷克斯洛伐克。

By exposing history in such a democratic way,

借助社交媒体以这种民主的方式

展现历史，

through social media,

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

我们让大家看到：掌权者 并不是唯一做出选择的人。

That gives any user a possibility of reclaiming history.

这种方式给了每个用户 还原历史的可能，

平凡的人也很重要，

Ordinary people matter.

他们也会对历史产生影响。

They have an impact.

Ideas matter.

想法也很重要。

Journalists, scientists, philosophers matter.

记者、科学家、 哲学家们都很重要。

We shape society.

我们塑造了社会，

We all make history.

我们大家共同创造了历史。

Thank you.

谢谢！

(Applause)

（掌声）