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Dear Language Enthusiast,
Welcome to Russian Monthly, the Internet newsletter from Transparent
Language. This issue marks the second in our three-part series looking back on some of the
most notable people, events, and accomplishments of the 20th century. This month’s article
focuses on some of the great civil leaders and humanitarians from Asia, the Middle East, and
North Africa. We hope you find it both informative and useful in your language of study. In May,
we will conclude the series with a look at Latin American artists, writers, and filmmakers who
helped shape our view of the 20th century.
Note that the article is presented in Russian, followed by a translation in English.
Sincerely,
Transparent Language
www.transparent.com
In English:
Even if we confine our study to a brief span of years, there are countless individuals
whose efforts to improve conditions in their communities, countries, or on a global scale
deserve attention. This Newsletter pays tribute to the accomplishments of a few
important humanitarians and civil leaders from Asia, the Middle East and Northern
Africa whose influence was internationally recognized in the twentieth century.
Eisaku Sato served as prime minister of Japan from 1964-1972. He is widely recognized
for his diplomacy in building peaceful international relations both within Asia and with
other parts of the world. His rejection of nuclear arms, which led to the signing of the
Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, earned him the Nobel Prize for
Peace in 1974.
From China, Sun Yat-sen (Dr. Sun Yixian) was a revolutionary leader whose political
agenda focused on overthrowing the Qing dynasty in China to establish a republic. His
aims included large-scale industrialization in China. He served as provisional president
of the Chinese republic in 1911 and later led China from 1923-25. Many consider him to
be the father of modern China.
Bstan-'dzin-rgya-mtsho was enthroned as the fourteenth Dalai Lama in Tibet in 1940
when he was only five years old. He fled to India in 1959 after the Tibetan people's
unsuccessful revolt against the Chinese government, and established a government in
exile in the Himalayan Mountains. The Nobel Prize for Peace was awarded to him in
1989, in recognition of his nonviolent methods of protest against Chinese rule in Tibet.
In 1991, the Nobel Committee awarded its Prize for Peace to Aung San Suu Kyi, a
peaceful protester for democracy and human rights in Myanmar, then called Burma.
For those actions, she was kept under house arrest for six years (1989-1995). She was
still in isolation when she received the Nobel Prize.
Golda Meir was an astute political leader devoted to Israel and its independence. She
served as prime minister of Israel from 1969 to 1974 and was recognized for her efforts
to maintain peace in the Middle East during those years. Only after her death in 1978
did the public discover that she had been fighting leukemia for twelve years before her
death.
Anwar el-Sadat, an Egyptian army officer, served as the president of Egypt from 1970 to
1981. He worked with Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin to establish peaceful ties
between their countries. Both leaders received the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1978 for
their negotiations. In 1979, peace was reached between the two countries.
Mohandas Gandhi of India (commonly called Mahatma Gandhi) is internationally
respected for his method of passive resistance and nonviolent protest against British
rule in India. His civil rights campaigns inspired and touched the world, and lent hope
to many--even Albert Einstein, who hoped that Ghandi's promotion of nonviolence
could help prevent the violence made possible by the atomic bomb.
Some of these figures of modern history may already be familiar to you. In any case,
we hope that you've enjoyed this look at a few great leaders and even discovered
something new!
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