经济学人:普京高调反腐 新闻曝光各部长赃款及其情妇(1)

 　　Europe Russia’s president

　　欧洲 俄罗斯总统

　　Alone at the top

　　高处不胜寒

　　Vladimir Putin has initiated¹ some high-profile battles against corruption². But to many he seems increasingly isolated³ and out of touch

　　弗拉基米尔·普京掀起了一场高调的反腐之战。但在很多人看来，他似乎愈加孤立也愈加脱离群众

　　STATE-RUN television is not usually the place to find news of corruption scandals involving officials close to Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin. Murky⁴ business dealings have never been a bar to government service. When high-level bureaucrats⁵ fall, they usually go quietly. But viewers have recently been treated to quite a spectacle on Channel One: evening broadcasts full of current and former ministers, their lovers, their expensive homes and millions in misappropriated funds.

　　俄罗斯国家电视台并不经常报道总统弗拉基米尔·普京身边官员的贪污丑闻。灰色交易对于政府服务来说从来不是障碍。一旦有高级官僚倒台，这些业务往来通常也就悄悄消失了。但是最近观众却在第一频道看到了这样的壮观场面：晚间新闻集中曝光了现任和前任的各位部长和他们的情妇，以及他们昂贵奢华的住宅和价值百亿的贪污赃款。

　　This nascent⁶ anti-corruption campaign began in October with the dismissal of Anatoly Serdyukov as defence minister. He was fired after investigators⁷ linked a company spun⁸ off from the ministry⁹ to a $100m fraud. That a high-level official with ties to Mr Putin could be so publicly dumped was unprecedented¹⁰. But since then, a $200m embezzlement¹¹ case over a satellite-guidance system has threatened Mr Putin’s chief of staff, Sergei Ivanov. And on November 27th Rossiya-1 channel aired a documentary linking a former agriculture minister, Yelena Skrynnik, to a reported $1.2 billion fraud.

　　随着国防部长谢尔久科夫的下台，一场初具规模的反腐活动在十月份展开。在调查人员将隶属国防部的一个公司和上亿美元的诈骗案联系起来之后，谢尔久科夫被解除职务。普金以如此公开的方式和这位高官断绝了关系，这也是史上前所未有的。此后不久，一件关于卫星导航系统的涉案金额高达2亿美元的挪用公款案让普金的第一副总理伊万诺夫的地位岌岌可危。11月27日，俄罗斯第一频道又播报了一则和有前农业部长斯科尼科涉案的12亿美元的诈骗案。

　　For Mr Putin, taking on graft¹² in his own circle has several benefits. It is popular: between 2005 and 2012, corruption rose from tenth to third in the concerns of ordinary Russians. It is also an issue that unites his opponents. Mr Putin may dismiss democratic worries, but he sees himself as a popular leader, responsive to the national will. Legitimacy¹³ of a kind matters deeply.

　　对于普京来说，打击他自己的小圈子里的贪污腐败有几大好处。它深得得民心：在2005至2012七年间，在公众最担心的问题中，腐败问题从第十位上升至了第三位。反腐还可以帮助普京笼络对手。普京可能对人们对民主问题的担忧嗤之以鼻，但他自视为一位很受爱戴的领导人，对于国民愿望总是给予积极的回应。某种合法性是大有关系的。

　　Eight months after his election to a third term, Mr Putin’s support looks shaky. The polls give him some of his lowest approval ratings ever. So he feels “compelled to carry on a populist course, as if the elections were still ahead of him,” says Nikolay Petrov of the Carnegie Moscow Centre. Fighting corruption also defangs the most resonant¹⁴ complaint of the opposition¹⁵.

　　在他第三次当选总统的八个月后，普京的拥护者似乎有些动摇。民意调查将普金评为史上最不受欢迎的总统。所以，普京觉得“不得不像大选迫在眉睫那样，实施一些民粹主义方针”， 莫斯科卡内基中心的尼古拉·彼得罗夫说。反腐也最能引起反对派的共鸣。

　　Launching corruption cases against his inner circle can also rein¹⁶ in excesses that make Mr Putin politically vulnerable and the state ineffectual. In his 12 years in power, bureaucratic¹⁷ corruption has gone “unpunished, unattended, and uncontrolled”, says Elena Panfilova of Transparency International, a lobby group. Worse, state employees now feel emboldened¹⁸ to siphon off resources even without sustaining social stability. Targeting a few high-profile officials can be a way to “introduce a certain level of fear,” Ms Panfilova notes.

　　针对普京集团的反腐还可以遏制一下官员们的过分行为，正是他们的过分行为使得普京在政治上变得脆弱，也导致整个国家效率低下。当他当政的12年里，官僚腐败已经上升到了“不受惩处，不受看管，不受控制”的地步，来自游说团体透明国际的艾莲娜潘菲洛娃这样说道。更糟糕的是，公务员有恃无恐的吸取资源甚至不考虑维持社会稳定。潘菲洛娃指出把少数高官当作靶子是“让人意识到一定程度的畏惧”的一种方式。

　　A disruptive public war on corruption also can create more infighting among political and business clans¹⁹. That seems to be happening at Rostelecom, where two managers are being questioned about a $225m fraudulent loan from VTB, a state-run bank. Control over lucrative²⁰ telecoms licences may be the real point. Yet an anti-corruption purge²¹ can also take on its own uncontrolled momentum²², which could make Mr Putin weaker, not stronger.

　　一场破坏性的公开反腐战争还会造成更多政治和商业派别之间的争斗。这种情况貌似正发生在俄罗斯电信运营商那里，两名经理被怀疑从一家国有银行VTB那里骗贷22500万美金。对有利可图的电信执照的控制可能才是真正的问题所在。然而反腐整肃本身也可能变得无法控制，这会使普京总统变得更软弱而不是更强壮。翻译：孙齐圣

　　1.high-profile 高调的；备受瞩目的

　　例句:We need a high-profile television slot.

　　我们需要一个高收视率的电视广告时段。

　　2.out of touch 脱离

　　例句:Washington politicians are out of touch with the American people.

　　华盛顿的政客们脱离了美国民众。

　　3.spun off 分离；剥离

　　例句:He was killed when his car hit a tree and spun off the road.

　　他的汽车撞在一棵树上并弹出路面，他也因此而丧生。

　　4.state-run bank 国有银行

　　例句:How to practice normal shareholding²³ system for the state-run bank?

　　国有独资银行如何实行规范的股份制？

1 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

2 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

3 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

4 murky   

adj.黑暗的，朦胧的；adv.阴暗地，混浊地；n.阴暗；昏暗

参考例句：

• She threw it into the river's murky depths.她把它扔进了混浊的河水深处。
• She had a decidedly murky past.她的历史背景令人捉摸不透。

5 bureaucrats   

n.官僚( bureaucrat的名词复数 )；官僚主义；官僚主义者；官僚语言

参考例句：

• That is the fate of the bureaucrats, not the inspiration of statesmen. 那是官僚主义者的命运，而不是政治家的灵感。 来自辞典例句
• Big business and dozens of anonymous bureaucrats have as much power as Japan's top elected leaders. 大企业和许多不知名的官僚同日本选举出来的最高层领导者们的权力一样大。 来自辞典例句

6 nascent   

adj.初生的，发生中的

参考例句：

• That slim book showed the Chinese intelligentsia and the nascent working class.那本小册子讲述了中国的知识界和新兴的工人阶级。
• Despite a nascent democracy movement,there's little traction for direct suffrage.尽管有过一次新生的民主运动，但几乎不会带来直接选举。

7 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。

9 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

10 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

11 embezzlement   

n.盗用，贪污

参考例句：

• He was accused of graft and embezzlement and was chained and thrown into prison.他因被指控贪污盗窃而锒铛入狱。
• The judge sent him to prison for embezzlement of funds.法官因他盗用公款将其送入监牢。

12 graft   

n.移植，嫁接，艰苦工作，贪污；v.移植，嫁接

参考例句：

• I am having a skin graft on my arm soon.我马上就要接受手臂的皮肤移植手术。
• The minister became rich through graft.这位部长透过贪污受贿致富。

13 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

14 resonant   

adj.(声音)洪亮的，共鸣的

参考例句：

• She has a resonant voice.她的嗓子真亮。
• He responded with a resonant laugh.他报以洪亮的笑声。

15 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

16 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

17 bureaucratic   

adj.官僚的，繁文缛节的

参考例句：

• The sweat of labour washed away his bureaucratic airs.劳动的汗水冲掉了他身上的官气。
• In this company you have to go through complex bureaucratic procedures just to get a new pencil.在这个公司里即使是领一支新铅笔，也必须通过繁琐的手续。

18 emboldened   

v.鼓励，使有胆量( embolden的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Emboldened by the wine, he went over to introduce himself to her. 他借酒壮胆，走上前去向她作自我介绍。
• His success emboldened him to expand his business. 他有了成就因而激发他进一步扩展业务。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 clans   

宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派

参考例句：

• There are many clans in European countries. 欧洲国家有很多党派。
• The women were the great power among the clans [gentes], as everywhere else. 妇女在克兰〈氏族〉里，乃至一般在任何地方，都有很大的势力。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源

20 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

21 purge   

n.整肃，清除，泻药，净化；vt.净化，清除，摆脱；vi.清除，通便，腹泻，变得清洁

参考例句：

• The new president carried out a purge of disloyal army officers.新总统对不忠诚的军官进行了清洗。
• The mayoral candidate has promised to purge the police department.市长候选人答应清洗警察部门。

22 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

23 shareholding   

n.股权

参考例句：

• Shareholding commercial banks must exercise an independent system of board of directors. 股份制商业银行必须实行独立董事制度。 来自互联网
• Asset re-structuring: to conduct shareholding reform for high quality assets. 资产重组：对优质资产进行股份制改造。 来自互联网