????在近代史上，一國(guó)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人蔚為壯觀的財(cái)富王國(guó)突然大白于天下，這種事并不稀罕；非?？杀氖牵@一幕其實(shí)屢見(jiàn)不鮮。薩達(dá)姆?侯賽因政權(quán)于2003年垮臺(tái)后，呈現(xiàn)在世人面前的同樣是金玉滿堂，珠寶成堆，建有私人動(dòng)物園的宮殿和豪宅。2011年，利比亞、突尼斯和埃及的獨(dú)裁政權(quán)相繼崩潰后，人們看到了同樣的景象。

????但烏克蘭人說(shuō)，他們希望把這一切保留下來(lái)，而不是摧毀掉。卡扎菲在的黎波里的豪宅被燒為平地，薩達(dá)姆的宮殿幾乎被洗劫一空，但烏克蘭的年輕人卻不辭辛苦地把每一件物品編入目錄，似乎是在盤點(diǎn)一家超市的商品。與阿拉伯革命后暴怒之下的焚燒和搶掠不同，烏克蘭的激進(jìn)分子似乎決心把過(guò)去保存下來(lái)，作為一個(gè)給予未來(lái)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人的警示。

????在亞努科維奇豪宅的宏偉大堂旁邊，矗立著幾尊身著銀色鎧甲的全尺寸騎士。米基堅(jiān)科和她的朋友已經(jīng)拉起了一道警戒線，圍住了所有貴重物品，其中包括一件巨大的象牙雕刻和一個(gè)純金打造，鑲嵌著琺瑯的圣經(jīng)盒。米基堅(jiān)科說(shuō)：“前段時(shí)間守護(hù)這個(gè)地方的那幾個(gè)人整天醉醺醺的，所以我們不得不把他們趕了出去。”她還對(duì)我說(shuō)，第一次進(jìn)入這棟房屋時(shí)，她感受到了一股強(qiáng)烈的“文化沖擊”?！拔覅⒂^過(guò)俄羅斯圣彼得堡的冬宮博物館(Hermitage Museum)，在那里我什么都不能碰。在這里，我可以觸摸一切東西?！?/p>

????然而，盡管這些年輕人下定了保全這些財(cái)產(chǎn)的決心，但它的命運(yùn)依然不確定。亞努科維奇及其政府的重要人物正面臨腐敗指控，屋內(nèi)的許多文件和物品都需要作為呈堂證據(jù)。上周五，幾位軍事檢察官和政府官員趕來(lái)這里參觀，同時(shí)商討了加強(qiáng)安保、是否關(guān)閉這片區(qū)域，不再向公眾開放等問(wèn)題。一位檢察官走進(jìn)屋內(nèi)，用他的iPhone手機(jī)拍攝了幾張照片?！半y以置信，”他說(shuō)?！袄习傩者B孩子的手術(shù)費(fèi)都掏不起，而我們的總統(tǒng)竟然過(guò)著這樣的生活。太過(guò)分了。”

????不過(guò)，幾位守衛(wèi)豪宅的激進(jìn)人士說(shuō)，他們依然拿不準(zhǔn)烏克蘭新領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人到底應(yīng)該怎樣處置這些財(cái)產(chǎn)?！澳壳坝袃煞N意見(jiàn)，”24歲的亞瑟?佩雷韋爾佐夫說(shuō)。他是一家國(guó)營(yíng)電視臺(tái)的口譯員，同時(shí)在一家汽車租賃公司兼職。守衛(wèi)房屋時(shí)，他晚上就睡在屋內(nèi)。“有些人認(rèn)為應(yīng)該賣掉這些東西，用出售所得補(bǔ)償獨(dú)立廣場(chǎng)的受害者?！痹谏蟼€(gè)月的流血暴動(dòng)中，有大約80位示威者死于狙擊手槍下。臉色蒼白，身材清瘦的佩雷韋爾佐夫全副武裝，儼然一副軍人模樣，但他說(shuō)自己并沒(méi)有接受過(guò)軍事訓(xùn)練；像許多年輕的激進(jìn)分子一樣，他的這套裝備是上個(gè)月在基輔獨(dú)立廣場(chǎng)示威期間從一隊(duì)自稱自衛(wèi)的軍人手中獲得的。

????如果檢察官選擇關(guān)閉這塊區(qū)域，許多烏克蘭人很可能會(huì)非常失望。

????亞努科維奇倒臺(tái)兩個(gè)星期后，這片區(qū)域已經(jīng)呈現(xiàn)出一派幾乎類似于節(jié)日的喜慶氣氛。在通往豪宅大門的道路上，一些頗具生意頭腦的烏克蘭人搭起了販賣飲料和烤香腸的攤位。游客甚至可以租一輛山地自行車，環(huán)繞這片土地轉(zhuǎn)上一圈。這個(gè)地方的確值得一游。大家會(huì)在沿途看到一座不知道亞努科維奇從哪里搞來(lái)的古希臘神廟。還有一個(gè)小教堂，教堂內(nèi)的舊染色玻璃窗和雕花的木制長(zhǎng)椅顯得別有情致。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：葉寒

????

????Such discoveries of leaders' spectacular opulence are hardly unique in recent history; in fact, they've become sadly familiar. When Saddam Hussein's regime collapsed in Iraq in 2003, palaces and mansions revealed similar splashes of gold and marble, with similarly vast jewelry collection and (weirdly) private zoos. Ditto after the collapse of the dictatorships in Libya, Tunisia and Egypt in 2011.

????But Ukrainians say they want to preserve, rather than destroy. While Moammar Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli was burnt to the ground, and Saddam's palaces were heavily looted, Ukraine's young activists have painstakingly catalogued every item, as though they were taking inventory in a supermarket. Unlike the enraged burning and looting after the Arab revolutions, Ukrainian activists seem determined to preserve the past as a cautionary tale for future leaders.

????In the grand lobby of Yanukovych's mansion, next to full-sized knights in silver armor, Mykytenko and her friends have placed valuable items behind a cordon of Scotch tape. They include a huge carved elephant tusk, and a gold Bible case inlaid with enamel. "There were other people guarding this place who drank a lot of the wine, so we had to get them out," Mykytenko says, adding that she had "culture shock" when she first entered the house. "I'd been in the Hermitage Museum [in St. Petersburg, Russia] where I couldn't touch anything. Here, I could touch everything."

????Yet despite the determination of the young activists to preserve Yanukovych's property, its fate is uncertain. Much of the documents and items are needed for evidence in corruption trials being brought against Yanukovych and major figures in his government. On Friday, military prosecutors and government officials arrived to tour the grounds, and to discuss how to beef up the security and whether to close the area to the public. One prosecutor entered the house to snap photos on his iPhone. "Unbelievable," he said. "People don't have money for operations for their kids, and our president lived this way. It is too much."

????Still, the activists guarding the mansion say they remain uncertain over what Ukraine's new leaders should do with the property. "There are two opinions," says Arthur Pereverziev, 24, who works an interpreter at the state-run TV channel, and at a rental-car agency, when he is not guarding the house and sleeping inside it. "Some of us think the items should be sold, and the money should go to compensating the victims of Maidan," or Independence Square, where snipers killed about 80 protesters in last month's bloody climax of the uprising. Pale and lean, Pereverziev was dressed in full combat fatigues, but says he has no military training; like many young activists, he acquired his uniform from the self-proclaimed self-defense units in Kiev's Independence Square during the demonstrations.

????If prosecutors opt to close the area to the public, there are likely to be many disappointed Ukrainians.

????Two weeks after Yanukovych's downfall, the area has assumed an almost festive air. On the road leading up to the gates, enterprising Ukrainians have set up food stalls selling drinks and barbecue sausages. You can even rent mountain bikes, in order to cycle around the acres of land. It is worth the ride. On one part of the grounds, Yanukovych had placed an ancient Greek temple, whose provenance is unknown. And in another, there is a small chapel, with old, stained glass windows and carved wooden pews.