Realizing he was on borrowed time, he tried to arrange an orderly succession of power.
当意识到自己时日不多时,列宁试着为自己寻找合适的接班人
In his political testament of December 1922, Lenin identified his two most likely heirs as Trotsky and Stalin, but he expressed concerns about each.
1922年12月他的政治遗嘱中,把托洛茨基和斯大林列为了两个候选人,但是他也提到了对两人各有担忧
Trotsky was gifted, but he was too pompous for Lenin's liking.
托洛茨基很有天赋,但是在列宁看来他太过自负
Stalin worked tirelessly as the Party's general secretary, but Lenin found him too rude and too combative.
作为党总书记,斯大林工作废寝忘食,但是太过粗鲁好斗
Trotsky appeared to Lenin to be the lesser evil of two poor choices.
两权相害取其轻,托洛茨基算是好点儿的
Lenin had hoped to say these things to the party congress in April 1923, but a second more powerful stroke took away his ability to talk.
列宁本想在1923年4月的党代会上讲这些看法的,但是第二次中风更为严重,剥夺了他说话的能力
As Lenin clung to life, Trotsky and Stalin jockeyed for position.
在列宁生命垂危之际,托洛茨基和斯大林则忙于争权夺势
Trotsky was outwardly the more impressive of the two.
这两人中托洛茨基外表更为出众
A master orator, hero of the 1905 Revolution, creator of the Red Army, but he personally inspired more envy than loyalty.
是雄辩的演说家 1905年革命的英雄人物,红军创始人,但人格上嫉妒多于忠诚
Stalin was not as impressive on the outside, but he was clever and ruthless.
斯大林外表没有那么出众。但是更聪明,更无情
Moreover, Stalin's job as the Communist party's general secretary gave him a big advantage.
而且斯大林的职位,党总书记给了他极大的优势
This thankless job-literally no one else wanted it, let Stalin appoint people to positions at every level of the communist party.
这个吃力不讨好的职位原本没人愿意要,但却让斯大林能够在党的各个层级拥有任命权