2006年VOA标准英语-Russia - Georgia Standoff Shows No Sign of Endi

By Anya Ardayeva
Moscow
20 October 2006
 
watch Russia Georgia Troubles

A bitter dispute between Russia and Georgia shows no sign of ending soon following Moscow's decision last month to impose harsh sanctions against Tbilisi after authorities there arrested and expelled four Russian army officers on espionage¹ charges.  Observers say the relations between the two countries are at their lowest point ever, but note that neither nation seems interested in resolving their differences.

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Georgian business in Moscow closed  
  
It has been a tough month for Georgians living in Moscow - their businesses have been shut down and more than one hundred Georgians have been deported², accused of being illegal immigrants.

Their problems began last month, when four Russian officers were arrested in Tbilisi on charges of espionage.  They were quickly returned home but Moscow continues to maintain the sanctions.  These include severing³ all transport and postal⁴ links, as well as evacuating⁵ some of its personnel from Georgia and suspending visas granted to Georgian nationals.

Sergei Markov  
  
Some observers in Moscow, such as the Kremlin-connected political analyst⁶ Sergei Markov, say the United States and Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili are to blame for the escalation⁷ of tensions, not Russia. "Georgia is our country. There are probably more Georgians living in Russia than in Georgia itself. These people are the main victims of Saakashvili's insane policy that is unfortunately supported by the insane people in Washington."

American-educated Mikhail Saakashvili came to power in 2004 following the so-called "Rose Revolution" in Georgia. Since taking office, he has forged a closer alliance between Georgia and Western Europe. Recently, Tbilisi entered talks with NATO - a move that clearly angered Russia.

 
Nikolai Petrov
  
Nikolai Petrov, an expert with Moscow's Carnegie Endowment, says the cooling of relations between Moscow and Tbilisi is a sign of Russia's weakening influence in the post-Soviet⁸ territory. "It is quite irritating for the Russian leadership that next to its border, in the zone that it considers to be of vital Russian interest, Western countries are conducting an active policy. And Russia takes that as an unfriendly attitude towards the country, especially now, when it strengthened its positions economically and politically."

Sergei Lukyanov  
  
Sergei Lukyanov, Editor-in-Chief of the English-language news magazine "Russia In Global Affairs", says the Kremlin's sanctions are part of a government campaign to undermine the Georgian leader. "I think that one of the ideas behind the Russian behavior which is not very well calculated is to try to force a regime change in Georgia, because one of calculation is that the situation will deteriorate⁹ so extremely in Georgia that there will be some kind of uprising or coup¹⁰ d'etat."

Russia also has tense relations with Ukraine, which went through a revolution of its own two years ago. The popular uprising over fraudulent elections brought Victor Yushchenko, a pro-Western leader, to power, and relations between Moscow and Kiev reached a low point soon after.

Again, Sergei Markov. "Russia can only be friends with those countries which have bad relations with Americans. Because only those countries can afford to disobey Washington."

Yet tensions between Tbilisi and Moscow seem to serve the interests of the leaders of both countries. Observers say that by provoking Moscow, the Georgian president is trying to foster the image that he is under economic and political pressure from Russia as a way to divert attention from his country's internal problems.

And President Vladimir Putin -- by imposing¹¹ what human rights activists¹² call a "collective punishment" against Georgians in Russia --  is sending an unmistakable signal to Russia's former Soviet neighbors not to stray too far outside of Moscow's sphere of influence.  Putin's actions also may be linked to the 2008 parliamentary and presidential election campaign, which are now getting underway.

Sergei Lukyanov of "Russia In Global Affairs" magazine comments. "Now we have quite a dirty and dangerous game within Russia which I would connect to our ongoing¹³ election campaign which already started this autumn. Before that, all the discussion connected to the elections was focused on prosperity, national projects, to investing in infrastructure¹⁴, health care and so on. Now we see a different perspective.  We see that nationalistic pride is again an important issue and that means that the whole climate in the campaign could be changed."

There is no indication that the Kremlin will ease its sanctions against Tbilisi any time soon, nor are there signs that Tbilisi will soften¹⁵ its anti-Russian rhetoric¹⁶.  As the standoff continues, both sides seem intent on scoring points off one another.

1 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

2 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 severing   

v.切断，断绝( sever的现在分词 )；断，裂

参考例句：

• The death of a second parent is like severing an umbilical cord to our past. 父母当中第二个人去世，就象斩断了把我们同过去联在一起的纽带。 来自辞典例句
• The severing theory and severing method for brittle block are studied. 研究裂纹技术应用于分离脆性块体的分离理论和分离方法。 来自互联网

4 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

5 evacuating   

撤离，疏散( evacuate的现在分词 )； 排空（胃肠），排泄（粪便）； （从危险的地方）撤出，搬出，撤空

参考例句：

• The solution is degassed by alternately freezing, evacuating and thawing. 通过交替的冻结、抽空和溶化来使溶液除气。
• Are we evacuating these potential targets? 能够在这些目标地域内进行疏散吗？

6 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

7 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

8 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

9 deteriorate   

v.变坏；恶化；退化

参考例句：

• Do you think relations between China and Japan will continue to deteriorate?你认为中日关系会继续恶化吗？
• He held that this would only cause the situation to deteriorate further.他认为，这只会使局势更加恶化。

10 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

11 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

12 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

14 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

15 soften   

v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和

参考例句：

• Plastics will soften when exposed to heat.塑料适当加热就可以软化。
• This special cream will help to soften up our skin.这种特殊的护肤霜有助于使皮肤变得柔软。

16 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。