this is our secret is your life for most of the headlines. as syrian troops drive the rebels out of the capital suburbs fierce fighting moves to aleppo the country's largest city and a key stronghold of president assad. fears of state snooping twitter scientists hope the nearly twelve hundred government requests for user data are filed in the first time for the good eighty percent came from the us government. the recent tax transparency report reveals a giant gap in the global economy as the world's ultra rate chiding over twenty one trillion dollars in offshore havens. up next sophie shevardnadze talks to history professor jeffrey roberts about the legacy of the soviet union and

the rise of nationalism and a supposedly multicultural europe. geoffrey roberts a professor at university college course an island thank you very much for being with us today thank you so here in russia there are two dimensionally different takes on sterling some say he was a great guy who won the second world war and he actually gave the country an immense post another state actually he undermined the economy which led to the eventual collapse of the u.s.s.r. what's your take on that when stalin dog winston churchill was reported to have said that stalin found russia with the wouldn't and he left it with atomic bombs

and i think that statement sums up stalin's achievement was to modernize the soviet union to urbanize is all you need to dust your license so that you can to build the foundations of a country that was able to withstand the german invasion in one nine hundred forty one and go on to where the picture of fascism and also the foundation for the post-war role is to solve it you to a nuclear superpower you know if russia is still a great country to die. with an important role to play in the world and enormous potential for the future it's because of the foundations that were laid during stalin's time now having said that of course there could be lots of questions of discussions as to whether or not this modernization of russia had to have been as brutal as it was because of course starred in my modernized russia but you know

with the post-war russia the pre-war russia as well but starting was also responsible for the deaths of millions of people so you can never discuss. and about the cost you have a discussion. about time tips about whether or not different courses of action events would have been. perhaps more effective than the ones that are starving starving persued. but nevertheless in the end it's a historical fact that. the soviet union was successfully modernized under stalin albeit when i have a very brutal basis so the cause of the collapse really is to blame on other leaders they came after stalling whether that was because that's just teleports my course is that the system that stalin built them which consisted of his death ok when he died. some are more brutal aspects the system disappeared such as the mass terror but sensually it was still style the system but i system is

a very defective system in many ways and those defects in the end result. in the collapse and also the mentality you know that stalin sort of try to establish and seven in the mentality that he left after his death was also to blame for the collapse at the end of the day you know well it depends what kind of mentality you're talking you know stalin was a communist he believed in socialism he believed in a communist utopia he believed in the soviet system he believed that the soviet union was a model for the whole the whole world know one doesn't have to agree with his belief or that vision but one has to recognize the power of that person and the power of everything was very very important in the historical development of the sort you before starting with a life and then subsequently because what happens is gold which of comes along and he questions and challenges that traditional soviet self image and attempts to

reform the system inquire radical way and the result of course is the. the eventual collapse of the system talking about sterling as a political figure i guess people in the west mostly know him as a man who lacked pressure to win the second world war see here for us at home there is no doubt that we won the war without russia the second world war would not have been won are there doubts in the west about that and how is there a genuine interest actually in the west to really find out about the role of russia and how it really wrecked the war today while there are people in the west who would want to do more to russia the soviet union's role in winning the second world war well because it's uncomfortable true for them to face up to this all for a terrier socialist communist regime under this dictator stalin was responsible for

tito to defeat a few of our men and in fact was responsible for as opposed to nazis well the the the those kind of people also tend to have the view that there was no great difference between naziism and communism and that started in the we're just as bad as each other but i don't think that would be the most prevalent view i think the most prevalent view will be one of the would recognise the differences between nazis and communism and the differences between hitler and stalin and hitler was a far more dangerous dictator for the world and stalin was so i think and i think there is now there is creasing recognition of the soviet role in winning the war and of course there are always people who want to present a different view present a distorted view of the events of the second world war so you are someone who knows a lot about it and who studied stalin you wouldn't say that at this point in the west there is a deficit of knowledge about stalin and his world and russians role in world war

two there's always a deficit of historical knowledge there's a deficit of knowledge about the world not just in the west also in russia. as well . but you know i don't think that deficit is to grow. as i said i think there is now a days much much greater recognition of the soviet role in the second recognition of the soviet role in the second world war more recognition than people in russia actually recognize because to what your science moves something the russians royce saying to me why why don't they recognize our rolling when the second world war and i was there to actually most people most people do particularly since the end of the cold war during the cold war there was just ideological struggle going on and top down like look was an effort by western cold warriors to did no i the reality of the soviet role in defeating nazi germany and their western cold war is to the existing they're still making the same kind of arguments but they're not as

widespread and effective as the east but yet you think that people from that war are still alive and the memories of that war are still so fresh you'd think that would learn our lesson but then you see these huge nationalist rising up in europe what's to blame well that that's that's not the extreme right movement in europe ultranationalist in the national journal is not a new phenomenon recently know it's true that recently. the political influence of national nationals of its very strong particularly the more extreme forms has grown in various countries of europe. i think that has mostly to do with the economic and political problems but europe is. facing at the moment which poses a dollar for it to know the whole future of the european union i think is also part of we've. you know as time goes on the war you know receipts from men and memory

becomes a much more distant event and the more time elapses. the more possibilities there offer people to present. distorted accounts. of the war some think it's partly a function of of the distance we've actually traveled from war to partly explains. this development of nationalism out for national national in europe but then because the moment the main reason it's to do with contemporary politics i knock on economics. history now and that's that's not to say that history isn't important of course because there are many many lessons of history which are rather than to the contemporary crisis seem relieved to have faced the worst crisis that here or right now is experiencing if that is to last or get worse that will also. but it would also incite that they rise of more national nationalist sentiment i think there is there is a great danger of that if the eurozone collapses the e.u.

collapses the most likely. it will be replaced by different forms of nationalism. questions will forms and i sense some extreme and dangerous take on herself i think there are great george michael's that's the historical lesson of what happened before the second world war particularly in the nineteen for that is where you had a similar crisis that will be gone from now on the result. of the rise of notions of extreme nationalism in europe on the. emotions of a number of the four terrible fascist. regime so that so the less there is a historical lesson there is that there is a great danger that develops i don't see is by any means being. simple i think the difference between now and then is that democratic culture democratic institutions are much stronger in europe than they were before the second world war

so i'm confident i'm hopeful that european democracy can subodh its current crisis do you think talking about democratic institutions to think that a politician with anti-democratic means could rise to power through those democratic institutes what that that's exactly what happened in the case of hitler didn't it and that's what happened in a number of other countries in europe but before and all through the second world war so it's it's a distinct possibility that it will be a challenge it will be a test of western democracy western democracy but european international democracy kind of. the challenge of a kind of nationals in which chemicals for all life in conditions of economic collapse and political disorder could stick. and together as a united europe maybe work as a magic potion against president bush wasn't i don't think it's

a part of the cea. but i sincerely hope that the european union doesn't collapse because for all its faults the european union on what it represents is much much better than the ultra nationalist. alternative. who knows what's going to happen. i think it's possible the european union will survive and i hope it does support and if i were russian if i would russians i would actually be hoping that's the case as well because the collapse and he knew on the rise of extreme forms of nationalism in europe is going could pose a question if you can challenge for russia press or cheer for roberts thank you very much for this until you.

get started here. for going global and. it's my. blog. please. take your stuff. to. make your statement. put the word. on the street.

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dot com. the top stories are nancy as syrian troops drive the rebels out of the capital suburbs he is fine as he moves to aleppo the country's largest city and take a stronghold of president assad. is of state's neighboring twitter sansa that i'll be nearly twelve hundred government requests for user data filed in the first top of this year nearly eighty percent came from the us government. and a recent tax transparency reporter deals a giant gap in the global economy as the world's ultra rich are fighting over twenty one trillion dollars in all shoalhaven. as the headlines up next states make trade with the major sports teams.

sports and i'll see how low they go to the company again they sell and spin the pulitzer. winning starred russian premier league title how does in its input is used to victory in the opening question of the new season. by doing feats he says down for what he saw with one of the greatest says of his generation to vitali klitschko added his next had whiplash which takes place in moscow in september. leap of faith russian. claims his first three day series cliff diving world championship. in portugal. so let's sell football the opening weekend of action in the russian premier league defending champions a neat getting off to winning start with a one sided victory on sunday the russia head coach fabio capello was an interested spectator petrowski stadium and the telling got to see some neat interplay in the

build up to the opening girl aleksandr off with a great finish their similar free flowing move see the home side what it penalty on the mark after sergei similar was found in the box physical plane brace from the support they need to win his home looking every inch deserving title holders. thing started badly. needed only for two three seconds to open the scoring deflection of angie's defender carlos and looped over keep of him a good ball of into the net but thirty minutes later it's all got an equaliser after some strong and you pressure them to the first half. scored in his debut game for the side against his former club and it proved to be the winner. well off in their home match with terry could register a one all draw. new side in front of to fifty six minutes scored with

a long shot that goalkeeper sergei's very caught got a hand on but was unable to save it for eight minutes before the final whistle the ball found kind of terry adelson in the palace area forward louis. perry to. finished. and there's one more match in the opening game week showed for monday night for my chum visiting f.c. that. now athletes are already starting to arrive at the olympic village in london with the games due to get under way in just four days our correspondent richard poole third is there to see how things are shaping up. seven years of planning almost coming to an end for london in less been a week the city will hold the world's biggest sporting events preparations are being taken very seriously everywhere you go there are security checkpoints which

make the village look more like an airport however once inside the athletes are in for real treats accommodation has been billed for the ten thousand competitors and officials and these buildings we put to good use once the games are under paralympics are finished the world will enjoy our olympic site and you know i'm not going to in any way to deprecate what happened in beijing because it was a great olympic games in beijing but i think what we will do is get our own ingenious way without spending quite so much money on fireworks i think we will have the best ever olympic games their fleets will have everything they could possibly need on besides there's a massive dining hall which can see tens of thousands of people all in keeping with london's multiculturalism there is food on offer from all those every corner of the planets the main reason the athletes are here of course is to win medals and that is certainly being catered for there's a large team available as well as

a medical center to cater for anything from a common cold to a muscle strain putting conditions may not resemble a five star hotel which some of the athletes are more used to however they are very comfortable nonetheless and the thousands of competitors will enjoy these fantastic surroundings when the games eventually get underway on the twenty seventh of july richard bumble for eternity in london. staying with the theme the possible tournament in london gets underway on the twenty eighth of july the russian players had a good opportunity to test themselves right before the games in a friendly games through fear david plotz men claimed i didn't want to seventy nine when the moscow region was the visitors open equal to twenty seventeen. gradually pulled away and held on to their advantage italy for example sport for them and finished with twenty six points on the night. where the united

states held on for a narrow eight to six to eight a victory over argentina in their second exhibiting game ever made his team mates with twenty seven points the americans got off to a strong start nineteen threw out in the middle of the first quarter with their own ins fought back the american lead was down to only four points by the end of the match but it was still not enough to stop the reigning olympic champion. moving on. a latest trick earned him a top place finish at a third stage of the cliff diving world series the twenty eight year old russian getting the better of top ranking rivals and landed to care for his first victory of the season the ever innovative executing at stand with a blind entry to win by this limits of margins in the final take the victory by just one tenth of a point over

a leader had to settle for third place behind to care. ten point advantage over his rival two thousand and six world champion still have to be one hundred fifty points behind and despite picking up pace first quarter and finish of the season. in golf and else has won the open championship at royal life and st annes after finishing seven under par their second open victory for the south african going into the last day to a main rival adam scott failed to hold his final part and take a play off their stroll and would eventually finish second with six under while the tournament favorite american tiger woods came home in third place with competitor brandt snedeker with three and. just. you know this week you know. my wife's been telling me do you believe in myself they believe in me you basically

made everybody else believe that you can do it you going to start doing it is so often and i just you know feel good all week for some reason you know is that in a nice hotel you are staying in the same until the minus six are sort tony jacklin fixed term. boxing now where our team managed to catch up with heavyweight great tally klitschko on a visit to moscow this week the w.b.c. world champion is set to defend his crown against man a charge of germany in the russian capital on the eighth of september and that's what the forty one year old talked about first. here doesn't have big name bugs young. good skills boxing skills and who knows maybe. he should good performance in this fight and will be a big step up to build a new name

a new me. to have the same title same belt what have many years ago that includes mike tyson with the leap. to the defense of the. forward body of the war. very good fighters have been skills but. he have a chance to fight like a recreational twice and i think he's management. blocked him because they seemed like santa can loose he's career loose he's title against a lot differently very interesting fight what is. good question not for me not for why are these good question for some or if he will be if xander put it in the want to fight the school anytime we already.

emotions produce mistakes. and that's why. they're the way you have to be very cool school had to harp inside the ring no emotions. with emotions so you can fight. for the world just or hey we really are the best as well and maybe world champion by. we don't want to. use the same talking skills in suppressing variance before a fight. we. fight let's talk our feast and. i will use those hey just fought last weekend. against

charles and actually it was a fight between two police cruisers who is a stronger one in the show he's a strong lou. ferrigno he started to attack me but to be. almost right now. it's eight we discuss to make it in more school bade him make a decision to fight a sore. meanwhile klitschko upcoming opponents mano chart is already in moscow preparing for the syrian born john started his boxing career under the guidance of fame as john coach would have a no known ac boy chart has a record of twenty one victories and he still without. a professional seems pretty confident that he'll say and beaten after a tough september as he has already challenge david tait next. i was just in the

league i have been going through extensive training for the match i competed in twenty one matches and won them all but i trained a lot with very strong boxers who are former world champions now i have this chance to fight for jelly and i am confident i will win. well that's all for me for the moment but for now.