TED2018
Mikhail Zygar: What the Russian Revolution would have looked like on social media
Filmed:
Readability: 4.1
1,432,185 views
History is written by the victors, as the saying goes -- but what would it look like if it was written by everyone? Journalist and TED Fellow Mikhail Zygar is on a mission to show us with Project1917, a "social network for dead people" that posts the real diaries and letters of more than 3,000 people who lived during the Russian Revolution. By showing the daily thoughts of the likes of Lenin, Trotsky and many less celebrated figures, the project sheds new light on history as it once was -- and as it could have been. Learn more about this digital retelling of the past as well as Zygar's latest project about the transformative year of 1968.
Mikhail Zygar - Journalist, writer, filmmaker
Mikhail Zygar is the founder of Future History, the creative digital studio behind Project1917 and 1968.digital. Full bio
Mikhail Zygar is the founder of Future History, the creative digital studio behind Project1917 and 1968.digital. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
What is history?
0
1093
1150
00:15
It is something written by the winners.
1
3438
2522
00:20
There is a stereotype that history
should be focused on the rulers,
should be focused on the rulers,
2
8203
4748
00:24
like Lenin or Trotsky.
3
12975
1696
00:27
As a result, people
in many countries, like mine, Russia,
in many countries, like mine, Russia,
4
15445
3320
00:31
look at history as something
that was predetermined
that was predetermined
5
19932
3477
00:35
or determined by the leaders,
6
23433
1729
00:38
and common people could not
influence it in any way.
influence it in any way.
7
26075
2662
00:41
Many Russians today do not believe
that Russia could ever have been
that Russia could ever have been
8
29585
3580
00:45
or ever will be a truly democratic nation,
9
33189
2813
00:48
and this is due to the way
history has been framed
history has been framed
10
36026
2961
00:51
to the citizens of Russia.
11
39011
1571
00:52
And this is not true.
12
40606
1578
00:55
To prove it, I spent two years
of my life trying to go 100 years back,
of my life trying to go 100 years back,
13
43011
5761
01:00
to the year 1917,
14
48796
2342
01:03
the year of the Russian Revolution.
15
51162
2453
01:05
I asked myself, what if the internet
and Facebook existed 100 years ago?
and Facebook existed 100 years ago?
16
53639
5706
01:12
So last year, we built
a social network for dead people,
a social network for dead people,
17
60155
5291
01:17
named Project1917.com.
18
65470
2388
01:22
My team and I created our software,
19
70111
2572
01:24
digitized and uploaded
all possible real diaries and letters
all possible real diaries and letters
20
72707
5280
01:30
written by more than 3,000 people
21
78011
3102
01:33
100 years ago.
22
81137
1532
01:34
So any user of our website or application
23
82693
3742
01:38
can follow a news feed
for each day of 1917
for each day of 1917
24
86459
4001
01:42
and read what people
like Stravinsky or Trotsky,
like Stravinsky or Trotsky,
25
90484
4121
01:46
Lenin or Pavlova
and others thought and felt.
and others thought and felt.
26
94629
3547
01:50
We watch all those personalities
being ordinary people like you and me,
being ordinary people like you and me,
27
98931
4705
01:55
not demigods,
28
103660
1912
01:57
and we see that history consists
of their mistakes, fears, weaknesses,
of their mistakes, fears, weaknesses,
29
105596
6984
02:04
not only their "genius ideas."
30
112604
2753
02:08
Our project was a shock for many Russians,
31
116643
2199
02:10
who used to think that our country
has always been an autocratic empire
has always been an autocratic empire
32
118866
5601
02:16
and the ideas of freedom and democracy
could never have prevailed,
could never have prevailed,
33
124491
3413
02:19
just because democracy
was not our destiny.
was not our destiny.
34
127928
2650
02:23
But if we take a broader look,
35
131514
1928
02:26
it's not that black and white.
36
134291
1588
02:29
Yes, 1917 led to 70 years
of communist dictatorship.
of communist dictatorship.
37
137771
4703
02:35
But with this project, we see that Russia
could have had a different history
could have had a different history
38
143584
4649
02:40
and a democratic future,
as any other country could or still can.
as any other country could or still can.
39
148257
4040
02:45
Reading the posts from 1917,
40
153249
3817
02:49
you learn that Russia
was the first country in the world
was the first country in the world
41
157090
2967
02:52
to abolish the death penalty,
42
160081
1936
02:54
or one of the first ones
to grant women voting rights.
to grant women voting rights.
43
162041
4174
02:59
Knowing history and understanding
how ordinary people influenced history
how ordinary people influenced history
44
167334
6225
03:05
can help us create a better future,
45
173583
1858
03:07
because history is just a rehearsal
of what's happening right now.
of what's happening right now.
46
175465
3744
03:12
We do need new ways of telling history,
47
180500
2913
03:15
and this year, for example,
48
183437
1571
03:17
we started a new online project
that is called 1968Digital.com,
that is called 1968Digital.com,
49
185032
5841
03:23
and that is an online documentary series
50
191681
4825
03:28
that gives you an impression
of that year, 1968,
of that year, 1968,
51
196530
3944
03:32
a year marked by global social change
52
200498
3539
03:36
that, in many ways,
created the world as we know it now.
created the world as we know it now.
53
204061
3710
03:40
But we are making that history alive
54
208327
3110
03:43
by imagining what if all the main
characters could use mobile phones ...
characters could use mobile phones ...
55
211461
4539
03:49
just like that?
56
217299
1150
03:51
And we see that a lot of individuals
57
219906
4301
03:57
were facing the same challenges
and were fighting for the same values,
and were fighting for the same values,
58
225477
5248
04:02
no matter if they lived
in the US or in USSR
in the US or in USSR
59
230749
4397
04:07
or in France or in China
or in Czechoslovakia.
or in Czechoslovakia.
60
235170
2921
04:11
By exposing history
in such a democratic way,
in such a democratic way,
61
239345
2842
04:14
through social media,
62
242211
1393
04:16
we show that people in power
are not the only ones making choices.
are not the only ones making choices.
63
244762
5222
04:22
That gives any user a possibility
of reclaiming history.
of reclaiming history.
64
250596
3738
04:27
Ordinary people matter.
65
255191
1254
04:29
They have an impact.
66
257096
1254
04:31
Ideas matter.
67
259476
1151
04:33
Journalists, scientists,
philosophers matter.
philosophers matter.
68
261471
4356
04:38
We shape society.
69
266542
1373
04:40
We all make history.
70
268789
1734
04:43
Thank you.
71
271436
1151
04:44
(Applause)
72
272611
3769
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Mikhail Zygar - Journalist, writer, filmmakerMikhail Zygar is the founder of Future History, the creative digital studio behind Project1917 and 1968.digital.
Why you should listen
Mikhail Zygar is a Russian journalist, writer, filmmaker and the founding editor-in-chief of the Russian independent news TV-channel, Dozhd (2010 - 2015). Prior to Dozhd, Zygar worked for Newsweek Russia and the business daily Kommersant, where he covered the conflicts in Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Serbia and Kosovo. His bestseller All the Kremlin's Men is based on an unprecedented series of interviews with Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, presenting a radically different view of power and politics in Russia. His recent book The Empire Must Die was released in Russian and English in 2017. It portrays the years leading up to the Russian revolution and the vivid drama of Russia's brief and exotic experiment with civil society before it was swept away by the Communist Revolution.
Mikhail Zygar | Speaker | TED.com