Russians Celebrate Trump Inauguration as Turning Point But Analysts Cautious

 

MOSCOW — 

The night before Donald Trump¹’s inauguration² as the 45th president of the United States, a group of Russians and foreigners celebrated³ at a bar in central Moscow.

Over food, drinks and musical performances, some went as far as singing Trump’s praises. “Trump, is unbelievable. Trump is a superman,” said Russian singer Willi Tokarev as he promoted an album called "Trumplissimo America!"

“Trump is a symbol of America," he said. "Trump [is] really president.”

Most Russians expect relations between Moscow and Washington to improve under Trump, although expectations have abated⁴ somewhat since the initial mix of shock and euphoria from his November election.

“I hope we will be friends and I hope there will be a certain ... move toward each other between our countries,” said agricultural businesswoman Katya Boudayva, whose friend invited her to the event billed as “Trump Celebration Party!” “But, it’s unpredictable. I think nobody can say for sure what will happen. We’ll see. Let’s hope for the best.”

Window for a deal?

While some argue Trump’s presidency⁵ marks a revolution in U.S. politics, little is known about his policy on Russia or how he will deal with President Vladimir Putin.

“What he is going to do is unclear and perhaps that is unclear to him, too,” said former Kremlin adviser⁶ Gleb Pavlovsky in a December interview with VOA. “In this, he resembles Putin; but, Putin is the bearer of uncertainty⁷ and that's the essence of his policy. It is not very clear what will happen when the leader of uncertainty and the leader of the new revolution will meet; but, it is clear that Russia today has got a window for a possible serious deal.”

One deal was already on hand: To celebrate Trump’s inauguration, a chain of Russian Army stores, under Russia’s Ministry⁸ of Defense⁹, offered a 10 percent discount to American citizens.

At its branch across from the U.S. embassy in Moscow, electronic billboards¹⁰ flashed Trump’s image with an announcement for the special offer. Photographers and passers-by stopped to take photos.

Hopes for warming relations

“By this promotional action we want to acquaint Americans with our products and express our hope for the warming of relations between our countries,” said Ekaterina Korotkova, spokeswoman for the Russian Army chain. She told VOA the only similar previous special offer she recalls in honor of a foreign leader was when Americans were given a 5 percent discount after Trump’s election.

“Donald Trump’s background is, in fact, one of a ‘creator,’” said Korotkova. “Therefore, he, like nobody else, is aware how good relations are more important than any antagonism¹¹.”

Shop staff helped a retirement-aged woman with her purchase of toy figurines of Russian special forces used in Crimea to take over Ukrainian military bases.

The Russian Army chain of shops launched a clothing and toy line in 2015 to celebrate Russia’s annexation¹² of Crimea.

Russia’s military actions in Ukraine sparked Western sanctions and tensions that caused relations to drop to their lowest level since the Cold War. The Kremlin hopes to see that change under President Trump.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

3 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

4 abated   

减少( abate的过去式和过去分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼）

参考例句：

• The worker's concern about cuts in the welfare funding has not abated. 工人们对削减福利基金的关心并没有减少。
• The heat has abated. 温度降低了。

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 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

7 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

8 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。

9 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

10 billboards   

n.广告牌( billboard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Large billboards have disfigured the scenery. 大型告示板已破坏了景色。 来自辞典例句
• Then, put the logo in magazines and on billboards without telling anyone what it means. 接着我们把这个商标刊在杂志和广告看板上，却不跟任何人透漏它的涵意。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年4月号

11 antagonism   

n.对抗，敌对，对立

参考例句：

• People did not feel a strong antagonism for established policy.人们没有对既定方针产生强烈反应。
• There is still much antagonism between trades unions and the oil companies.工会和石油公司之间仍然存在着相当大的敌意。

12 annexation   

n.吞并，合并

参考例句：

• He mentioned the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910 .他提及1910年日本对朝鲜的吞并。
• I regard the question of annexation as belonging exclusively to the United States and Texas.我认为合并的问题，完全属于德克萨斯和美国之间的事。