Historical Nihilism and the Fall of the USSR
Reflections on My First Complete Translation Project
You can now watch the CPC documentary Historical Nihilism and the Fall of the USSR with English subtitles on my YouTube channel. This doc is important because it presents perspectives on the USSR’s collapse with which most Westerners are unfamiliar. It makes the argument that convincing a people to doubt their history and convincing a political party to doubt its leaders will invite disaster for both. Many Western “China watchers” have been chattering about this documentary since its debut in late 2022. Not one of them, however, has bothered to translate the documentary into English for Western audiences. I’m proud of this work, but I want to say few words and offer some disclaimers about the translation process as well.
SIMPLIFICATIONS
My priority was accessibility. This documentary, according to Western reports, was originally screened in CPC training sessions, for an audience of cadres already well-versed in communist history. Many names, locations, and events are delivered in rapid succession. When I gave advanced screenings to friends of mine unfamiliar with communist history, they all said they found the content extremely confusing. In making this translation as approachable for a general audience as possible, I simplified as much as possible. For example, “30th National Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union” was shortened to “30th National Congress.” Details in the convoluted anecdote about Lenin’s infamous train journey from Europe back into Russia were also truncated. If you notice a section that seems over-simplified and have clarifying questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
SOUND ISSUES
The sound completely cuts out of the film at at least 3 different points. Try as I might I could not find a version of the film that doesn’t do this. Nonetheless all soundless sections still contain accurate subtitles in English.
CIRCUITOUS TRANSLATIONS
Several Soviet primary sources referenced in the film were translated from Russian into Chinese for the original audience. These already-translated passages were then translated by me into English. As you can imagine this process has potential to up the risks of inaccuracies. I have zero working knowledge of the Russian language. Please reach out to me with any concerns in this area. This disclaimer likewise applies to the Russian interviewees in the documentary.
Please give the film a watch, share it as widely as possible, and let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Thanks!