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8.Spotlight on St. Petersburg
8 聚焦圣彼得堡
St. Petersburg. The very name brings to mind some of Russia's greatest poets, writers and composers: Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Tchaikovsky. The 19th century was a golden age for St. Petersburg's wealthy classes. It was a world of ballets and balls, of art and literature, of tea and caviar.
一提到圣比得堡，我们就想起许多伟大的俄国诗人，作家，作曲家，例如：普希金，杜斯妥也夫斯基，柴可夫斯基。19世纪是圣比得堡富有阶层的黄金时代。充斥着那个世界的是：芭蕾与舞会，文学和艺术以及茶叶和鱼子酱。
The golden age ended with the advent of World War 1. Working people were growing more and more discontented. In 1917, Communism came, promising peace and prosperity.
黄金时代伴随着一战的爆发而结束。劳动人民的不满情绪愈发强烈。在1917年，共产主义到来，并承诺带来和平与繁荣。
St. Petersburg had become Petrograd in 1914. People wanted a Russian name for their city. Ten years later, the city's name changed again, this time to Leningrad. Then in 1991, Leningraders voted to restore the city's original name. Some people opposed the name change altogether. Others thought it was just too soon. Old, run-down Soviet Leningrad, they said, was not the St. Petersburg of 19th-century literature.
圣彼得堡于1914年更名为彼得格勒。人民想要用俄文为他们的城市命名。十年后，彼得格勒再次更名——列宁格勒。在1991年，列宁格勒市民想通过选举恢复这座城市最早的名字。一些人完全反对变革城市的名字。另一些人认为名字更改的过快。他们认为，苏维埃列宁格勒年迈而破旧，它已然不再是19世纪文学作品里的圣彼得堡。
What, then, is St. Petersburg? In the confusing post-Communist world, no one really knows. The quiet, if Soviet-style, dignity is gone. The Communist sayings are down, and gaudy advertising up. Candy bars and cigarettes are sold from boxy, tasteless kiosks. And clothing? Well, anything goes. Everyone wants to be a little different. But many people do not know the true meaning of freedom. Personal crime has gone up, up, up in the past few years.
那什么才是圣彼得堡呢？共产主义后期的世界中充斥着迷惑，真相无人知晓。苏联模式下的宁静与尊严已经荡然无存。看不见了共产主义的标语，浮夸的广告却四处张贴。庸俗的四方形报亭贩卖着糖块与香烟。至于服装？也是无所不有。每个人都想有所改变。但是很多人并不明白何为真正的自由。个人犯罪案例在过去几年也是居高不下。
