Could Stalin speak foreigner languages?
I made some researches about this time and can say that Stalin was a unique person. People hardly know his excellent abilities to remember and to system the information. Alas, people know much more about GULAG and all that was connected with repressions in a Stalins time.
He was born in a small town in Georgia and did not know any other language but Georgian till he entered seminary. There he learned Russian. He also learned and knew pretty well English. I just cannot say for sure where exactly he learned it. But while he was in prison (before the Great October Socialist Revolution) he asked his comrades to bring him books in English “not to forget the language in walls of prison”. This fact was also confirmed by Roosevelts son. Elliot Roosevelt remembered that Stalin knew English but preferred not to show it. When any question was asked during conferences Stalin always waited till the text was interpreted and it gave him extra seconds to think over the answer.
After Stalins death his personal library (around 20000 books ) was given to a state library in Moscow. Judging by the marks made in books Stalin definitely worked over 5500 books learning and researching different topics. It made him a specialist in different subjects. He was also able to quote pieces of literature by heart.
Now I see that I have pretty much material for a full -scale hub devoted to him. Hope to write it soon.
Thanks for the answer - I was able to find out quite a lot about complexity of Stalin's character before but not about the languages (how maddenin!) Oh, and do write that hub, sounds like interesting reading!
Related Discussions
- 32
If you could learn a foreign language, which one would it be and why?
If you were able to learn a foreign language without any effort, which language would you choose to speak and why?
- 31
Should my daughter take Spanish or Latin?
Should my daughter take Spanish or Latin?When my daughter attends high school she must take foreign language. The choices are Spanish and Latin. We live in Texas, so Spanish would come in handy here. Latin, I hear, will help on college entrance exams. My husband is pushing Spanish, while a friend...
- 36
learning other languages
do you believe that learning many languages will makeus more competitive to others?common guys, tell me your points of view.lieka
- 9
Do you speak another language? Is there one that you want to learn in the future
Do you speak another language? Is there one that you want to learn in the future?I'm a native English speaker, but I speak Portuguese rather fluently, since I've spent the past year and a half in Brazil. I used to study French and Spanish in high school, but I've forgotten quite a lot. If possible,...
- 10
Why are people able to speak a language, but cannot write or read it?
Why are people able to speak a language, but cannot write or read it?
- 9
How many languages can you speak, and why?
How many languages can you speak, and why?I am curious as to how many languages you can speak. More specifically, why do you speak those (or possibly only English) language(s)?Have you thought about learning other languages and what has held you back?