2007年VOA标准英语-Russia's President Advances Unexpected Choice f

By Peter Fedynsky
Moscow
12 September 2007

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accepted the resignation of the entire Russian government, raising speculation¹ that an unexpected choice for new prime minister could also become Mr. Putin's successor in the Kremlin.  VOA Moscow Correspondent Peter Fedynsky reports.

Word of Mr. Putin's nominee² to become Russia's new prime minister came from Boris Gryzlov, speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament, or State Duma.

Picture taken 31 May 2006 shows Viktor Zubkov speaking at a conference in St. Petersburg

Gryzlov says the president of the Russian Federation³ has sent the name of Viktor Zubkov for consideration by the State Duma as the new head of government.  He is now head of Federal Financial Monitoring Service.

In that capacity, Zubkov, who is little known by the public, has investigated financial crimes in Russia.  Gryzlov notes that the nominee was also a collective farm director and Communist Party official in the Leningrad region. 

Leningrad, Mr. Putin's hometown, is now known by its pre-Soviet name, Saint Petersburg.

 Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov offered his resignation to President Putin in a face-to-face meeting broadcast on national television.  Mr. Putin promptly⁴ accepted Mr. Fradkov's offer, praising him for growing the economy, raising salaries, and lowering inflation. 

Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with his Cabinet as Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, left, looks on (file photo)

Mr. Fradkov said he and the entire Cabinet are stepping down to give the Kremlin leader freedom to pursue necessary decisions before upcoming Russian parliamentary and presidential elections.  Those decisions, he said, include freedom to staff a new government.

President Putin's response suggests the new prime minister could also assume the presidency⁵.

The Russian leader says, "Perhaps together, we should all think how to structure the government and leadership so that it better corresponds to the pre-election period and prepares the country for the period after the parliamentary and presidential elections"

Mr. Putin's spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, told the VOA the resignation did not come as a surprise.

The resignation of any government can always be expected, says Mr. Peskov.  Sooner or later it happens.

Russian political analysts⁶ have long considered Sergei Ivanov and Dmitri Medvedev, both first deputy prime ministers, as favorites for the prime minister's position. 

But Andrei Kortunov, head of the Eurasia Foundation in Moscow, says Mr. Putin has been a master of surprise decisions.  Kortunov says Zubkov would be, what he calls, a technical president who could leave the door open for Mr. Putin's eventual⁷ return as Kremlin leader.

Zubkov, says Kortunov, does not have his own power base, he is about 66 years old, has no personal political ambitions and Putin knows him personally from the St. Petersburg mayor's office.  So, according to Kortunov, there is logic⁸ to the choice.

The Russian constitution prohibits its president from serving more than two consecutive⁹ terms in office.  This forces Mr. Putin to step down next year, but he may run again in 2012.  Russia holds its next presidential election in March. 

1 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

2 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

3 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

4 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

5 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

6 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

7 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

8 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

9 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。