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Stalin voted third greatest Russian

Soviet dictator Josef Stalin has come third in a nationwide Russian poll seeking to name the greatest-ever countryman.

Russia’s Communist Party still remembers Joseph Stalin, and so it seems to many other Russians. The Soviet 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 invaders 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 Nazi 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 labor camps. Things have changed since Stalin’s death in 1953, but many Russians say a whiff of (1) Stalinism remains. Earlier this month a human rights organization claims it had its archive of Stalin atrocities (2) taken away by police. He may be dead, but he is clearly not forgotten.

Sonia Legg, Reuters

Notes:

(1) A whiff of: If there is a whiff of a particular smell, you smell it only slightly or only for a brief period of time, for example as you walk past someone or something. Here is its figurative use.

(2) Atrocity: An atrocity is a very cruel, shocking action.

文本参考中文翻译

在最伟大的俄国人全国范围的民意测验中，苏联独裁者斯大林位列第三。

俄罗斯共产党依然深深地记得斯大林，其他俄国人似乎也如此。这位苏联独裁者要为统治期间的数百万人死亡负责，然而，仍然在最伟大的俄国人中排名第三。这次活动由俄罗斯电台组织，全国三分之一大约5千万人参与了投票，最终12人当选。排名第一的是亚历山大-涅夫斯基，他在13世纪击退了欧洲的一系列侵略者，保卫了统一的俄罗斯国家。列第二位的是20世纪早期沙皇俄国改革派的首相斯托雷平。但是排名第三的斯大林吸引了最多注意。

“斯大林的名字不应该列在候选人之列。我为这个国家感到可耻，为国家三分之一的人口感到羞辱。”

“我认为斯大林不配得到第三大排名。他做了很多积极的事情，但是也有许多恐怖的事情。我喜欢苏沃洛夫，涅夫斯基也不错。”

斯大林的支持者更喜欢谈论他怎样击败纳粹德国，使苏联实现了工业化，让农民占大多数的国家普及了文化知识。他们一般都不会提起大清洗运动中死亡的数百万人和在劳改营中死亡的人。自从1953年斯大林去世以后，形势有所改变，但是俄罗斯人说，斯大林主义的气氛还残存着。本月早期，一人权主义组织声称有关斯大林的暴行的档案已经被警方带走。斯大林已经去世了，但是他永远不会被人们忘记。

单词注解：
A whiff of：一种气味，气氛，比喻的用法
Atrocity：暴行或惊世骇俗的行为