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　　Last year, China replaced Germany as Russia’s largest trading partner. Now, as Russian gas and oil pipelines¹ increasingly point East, the Kremlin wants to convert a backwater city on the Trans-Siberian Railway into Asia’s door to Russia.
去年，中国取代德国成为俄罗斯最大的贸易伙伴。现在，随着俄罗斯的石油和天然气管道不断伸向东方，克林姆林宫希望把跨西伯利亚铁路沿线的闭塞城市，变为俄罗斯面向亚洲的门户。
The songs, the dances, and the Mongolian faces put an Asian stamp on this old Russian city that's on the ‘Tea Trail.’
歌曲、舞蹈、蒙古人的面孔，这一切把这座茶马古道上的俄罗斯古老城市烙上了亚洲的痕迹。
For three centuries, Ulan Ude was an accident of empire. Buryat nomads² - the northernmost Mongolian people - living inside the borders of Russia.
三个世纪以来，乌兰乌德是俄罗斯帝国的一个意外收获。布里亚特游牧者是居住在最靠北的蒙古人，他们生活在俄罗斯境内。
Kremlin focuses on Asia
Now Asia is booming, and the Kremlin is looking east.
如今，亚洲正在急速发展之中，克林姆林宫把目光投向了东方。
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin flew five time zones east of Moscow to tell Buryatia leaders they will play a strategic role in building Russia’s ties with Asia. Their mission is to build an Asian-friendly port of entry to Russia.
俄罗斯总理普京从莫斯科飞行了五个时区，来这里告诉布里亚特的领导人，他们将在构建俄罗斯和亚洲的关系方面发挥战略性的作用。他们的使命是建立一个对亚洲人友好的进入俄罗斯的门户。
Putin said that without a doubt, the entry of Buryatia into Russia had very serious geopolitical significance, it helped to strengthen the eastern borders of the country and Russia's presence in Asia.
普京说：毫无疑问，布里亚特作为进入俄罗斯的门户，有着非常重要的地缘政治意义。它将有助于强化俄罗斯的东部边界以及俄罗斯在亚洲的存在。
The leaders gathered to mark 350-year anniversary of Buryatia joining Russia.
很多领导人聚首乌兰乌德，纪念布里亚特并入俄罗斯350周年庆典。
Behind the singing and dancing was geopolitics.
在歌舞的背后是地缘政治。
Upgrading the infrastructure⁴
Russia’s finance Minister Alexei Kudrin came to say the Kremlin is spending half a billion dollars to upgrade roads, airports and hotels to give Asian tourists international standard access to Lake Baikal.
前往庆典的俄罗斯财政部长库德林表示，克林姆林宫将花费5亿美元来更新改造这里的道路、机场和宾馆，向造访贝加尔湖的亚洲游客提供国际化标准的设施条件。
As visiting Chinese reporters took note, Kudrin said that Ulan Ude will host finance ministers from 21 Pacific Rim³ nations at next year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting. With the ministers, Kudrin said, will come hundreds of Asian journalists, and hopefully Asian tourism and investment.
正如来访的中国记者所注意到的，库德林还表示，乌兰乌德在明年的亚太经合组织会议期间，将举办来自21个环太平洋国家的财政部长会议。他说，随着这些财政部长一同前来的，将有成百上千的亚洲记者，同时也有希望吸引来亚洲的游客和投资。
He hailed Ulan Ude as the center of Buddhism⁵ in Russia. He said in order to have a development vector from Asia into Russia, the leaders need to show there is a rich tradition connecting Russia with other regions represented in APEC, and most importantly with South East Asia.
库德林赞扬乌兰乌德是俄罗斯佛教的中心。他说，为了从亚洲为俄罗斯引来发展的动力，领导人们需要显示出这里有可以把俄罗斯和代表亚太经合组织的其它地区，最重要的是和东南亚联系在一起的悠久传统。
Religious, ethnic⁶ tolerance⁷
Not only is Buryatia in the same time zone as Japan and Korea, but the republic is in the same spiritual zone - one of religious tolerance.
布里亚特不仅和日本、韩国处于同一个时区，而且这个共和国还和这些国家处于同一个精神区域，都有着一种宗教宽容精神。
This is often absent in European Russia, where racist⁸ gangs have attacked Asian men in recent years. On Monday, a court in Moscow handed down life sentences to five local neo-Nazis convicted in the murders of 27 non-Russians in the Moscow area during a two year period.
这一点在俄罗斯的欧洲部分很难见到。俄罗斯欧洲部分那里种族主义团伙近些年来袭击了亚洲男性。星期一，莫斯科一个法庭判处5名当地新纳粹份子无期徒刑。他们被控两年时间里在莫斯科地区杀害了27个非俄罗斯人。
In contrast, since the collapse⁹ of the Soviet¹⁰ Union 20 years ago, about 10,000 Chinese have moved to Buryatia to live and work. Many say they find Ulan Ude to be Asian-friendly.
与此形成对照是，自从苏联20年前解体以来，大约有1万中国人来到布里亚特生活工作。他们当中有很多人觉得乌兰乌德对亚洲人很友好。