新闻周刊:改善俄罗斯形象的2018世界杯:伊斯兰国曾扬言恐袭(1)（在线收听）

World Cup 2018: Will ISIS and Other Enemies Spoil Games for Putin's Russia?

2018世界杯：伊斯兰国及其他敌对势力会在普京领导下的俄罗斯破坏比赛吗？

BY MARC BENNETTS

作者：马克·斑尼特

Vladimir Putin kept a watchful eye on a black-and-white soccer ball as it soared toward him through a spacious Kremlin office, before he deftly bumped it back with his head.

一个黑白相间的足球穿过克里姆林宫一间宽敞的办公室飞向弗拉基米尔·普京，普京注视着这个球，然后用头灵巧地将球撞了回去。

On the other side of the room, Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, soccer's international governing body, waited for the return pass.

在房间的另一边，国际足联（国际足球管理机构）主席詹尼·因凡蒂诺还等着回传。

When it came, he flicked the ball up, juggling it from foot to foot before kicking it back to the Russian president.

球过来了，因凡蒂诺把球弹起来，从一只脚踢到另一只脚，然后踢回给俄罗斯总统。

The two men, both dressed in suits and ties, were taking part in a promotional video for this summer's World Cup,

这两个人都穿着西装，打着领带，正在拍摄今年夏天世界杯宣传片，

which Russia will host for the first time.

这是世界杯首次在俄罗斯境内举行。

In May, just weeks after the filming of the video, Putin and Infantino met again,

今年5月，就在视频拍摄几周后，普京和因凡蒂诺再次见面，

this time in Sochi, on Russia's Black Sea coastline,

这次是在位于俄罗斯黑海之滨的索契，

where they inspected the Fisht Olympic Stadium.

他们视察了菲什特奥林匹克体育场。

The 48,000-seat arena is one of a dozen that Russia has either built or revamped for the tournament,

这个能容纳48000人的竞技场是俄罗斯为世界杯建造或改造的十几个场馆之一，

which runs June 14 to July 15 and takes place in 11 cities.

世界杯将于6月14日至7月15日在俄罗斯11个城市举行。

The government says it has spent almost $12 billion on the tournament,

俄罗斯政府称世界杯已花费120亿美元，

not including some spending on infrastructure.

这还不包括在基础设施上的花费。

Some independent estimates say the true figure could be billions of dollars higher,

某些独立评估机构称真实数据可能要高出数十亿美元，

making this one of the most expensive World Cups ever.

这届世界杯可能是史上最昂贵的世界杯。

This massive spending isn't because Putin is a huge soccer fan;

这么大手笔可不是因为普京是忠实的足球迷；

he isn't particularly interested in it.

普京并非对足球情有独钟。

Instead, some say, he hopes to use the World Cup to improve Russia's international image.

而是像某些人说的，普京希望借世界杯提升俄罗斯的国际形象。

That’s a difficult task,

这并非易事，

especially after the Kremlin has been accused of war crimes in Syria and Ukraine, spy poisonings in Britain and election meddling in the United States and other Western countries.

尤其此前俄罗斯政府还被指控在叙利亚和乌克兰犯有战争罪、毒害英国间谍、干预美国和其他西方国家总统大选。

But Putin couldn't have chosen a better platform to spread his message: The tournament is the world's most-watched sporting event.

但普京选择了最佳平台来传递他的信息：世界杯，这个世界上收视率最高的体育盛事。

"Putin wants to present Russia as a strong country—

“普京想要表明俄罗斯是一个世界强国——

not just in the military sense—

不仅是在军事方面——

that is able to organize events well on an international level,"

还在于能举办世界级的比赛，”

says Andrei Kolesnikov, a political analyst at the Carnegie Moscow Center, a Russian-based think tank.

俄罗斯智库莫斯科卡耐基中心的政治分析家安德列·科列斯尼科夫如是说。

"The World Cup will also be an attempt to soften his iron man reputation."

“举办世界杯也是在试图软化普京钢铁侠的名声。”