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March 9
Svetlana Alliluyeva was Stalin"s only daughter
1967: Stalin"s daughter defects to the West
England have
The daughter of the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin has requested political
asylum at the United States Embassy in India.
The American Mutual Radio network broke the news but the American State
Department has so far refused to comment.
Since her father"s death in 1953, little has been heard of 42-year-old
Svetlana Alliluyeva - who prefers to be known by her mother"s maiden name.
She has been living in a flat in Moscow near the British Embassy working as
a researcher and translator.
Mother"s suicide
Svetlana is the only daughter of Joseph Stalin by his second wife Nadezhda
Alliluyeva who committed suicide in 1932 when Svetlana was nine years old.
When she was just 18, Svetlana, married a Jewish fellow student at Moscow
University against her father"s wishes. She had a son by him but the marriage
was dissolved and her ex-husband sent to his death in a Siberian labour
camp.
Her second husband was a close ally of Stalin, Andrei Zhdanov - this
marriage was also dissolved.
In 1964 she married Brajesh Singh, an Indian communist.
He died last November and Svetlana came to India on 20 December last year
to bury his ashes.
She is believed to be planning to go to Geneva, Switzerland, after the
Indian authorities refused her permission to stay in the country for fear of
marring relations with the Soviet Union.
She leaves behind a grown-up son and daughter in Moscow.
Direct rule was to remain in place for another 26 years after power-sharing
collapsed
1973: Northern Ireland votes for union
Artificially 1969:
The The people of Northern Ireland have voted overwhelmingly to remain
within the United Kingdom.
In a referendum on the future of the province, 591,280 people or 57% of the
electorate voted to retain links with the UK. A boycott by the Roman Catholic
population meant only 6,463 voted in favour of a united Ireland.
The turn out was reported to be 59% of the 1,030,084 electorate, although
less then 1% of Catholics voted.
The Unionist victory has been welcomed by Brian Faulkner, leader of the
Unionist Party and by the Unionist MP Reverend Ian Paisley.
The result comes as ten people are being questioned at Ealing police
station in west London in connection with a series of bomb attacks in London
yesterday.
The eight men and two women are said to have been arrested on their way to
Heathrow airport yesterday morning.
The Provisional IRA has admitted it was behind the bomb blasts - but
Scotland Yard says it is not completely satisfied the explosions were the work
of the IRA.
The Home Secretary, Robert Carr, told MPs there was no evidence to suggest
the bombings were connected to the border poll.
The Northern Ireland Secretary, William Whitelaw, said the bombings would
make no difference to the publication of a white paper on the future of the
province.
Ulster Unionist leader, Brian Faulkner, welcomed the result: "This is the
first time ever that the people of Northern Ireland through the ballot box have
quite simply and democratically stated their constitutional wishes."
"They have said so clearly today they are determined to stay within the
United Kingdom so this removes any argument about our constitutional position
from the lips of politicians for good and all, not just for five or ten
years."
Gerry Fitt, leader of the opposition SDLP, said the poll result was
entirely predictable. He said his party had organised the boycott of the poll
because it feared it would lead to an escalation in violence.
He said: "I think on the figures I have just seen, which have just arrived
from London, there has been massive impersonation of votes by the unionist
party."
Northern Ireland Secretary, William Whitelaw, said everyone had been given
the opportunity to vote - it was up to individuals to choose whether they used
it or not.
Vocabulary:
asylum: An institution for the care of people, especially those with
physical or mental impairments, who require organized supervision or
assistance.(庇护) |
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发表于 2016-7-9 23:20:46