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Russians go to the polls on Sunday for a presidential election in which the victory of Kremlin-backed candidate Dmitri Medvedev is considered a foregone conclusion. Medvedev's path toward high office has been very different from the one facing American presidential hopefuls.

俄罗斯民众计划星期天在总统选举中投票，克里姆林宫支持的候选人梅德韦杰夫在这次选举中获胜已经被视为定局。梅德韦杰夫通往总统宝座的道路与美国总统候选人非常不同。

Russians today are witnessing the twists and turns of an exciting presidential campaign.

俄罗斯人今天正在目睹一场激动人心的总统竞选的曲折过程。

But … it is not their own.

但是这不是俄罗斯的总统竞选。

Russia's presidential contest stands in sharp contrast to America's hotly-contested presidential primaries.

俄罗斯总统竞争与美国竞争激烈的总统初选完全不同。

Unlike his American counterparts, Dmitri Medvedev - the candidate of the ruling United Russia Party - did not need to submit his ideas, style and political record to the scrutiny¹ of open competition, in which various party constituencies select their nominee² based on discrete³ interests, be they regional, social, industrial, or financial.

与美国总统候选人不同的是，代表执政的统一俄罗斯党的梅德韦杰夫不需要暴露思想、方式和从政记录，来接受公开竞争的检验。在公开竞争中，不同政党的选民根据地区、社会、工业或者财政等不同利益来挑选候选人。

Instead, Medvedev was nominated in private, though the exact procedure is unknown. Word of his candidacy came in December after the leaders of several parties, not just United Russia, presented his name to current president Vladimir Putin. But it is widely believed Mr. Putin selected Medvedev himself.

尽管无法了解确切的程序，梅德韦杰夫却是私下任命。统一俄罗斯党等几个政党的领袖去年12月向现任总统普京提名梅德韦杰夫之后，梅德韦杰夫就成为候选人了。但是人们普遍相信，是普京本人挑选了梅德韦杰夫。

The 42-year-old candidate also did not have to agree to a single debate against his opponents. President Putin says there is no need.

今年42岁的梅德韦杰夫也不用答应与任何一个对手进行辩论。总统普京说没有这个必要。

The Kremlin leader asks why should Medvedev participate in debates and discuss problems that will be clearly formulated⁴ in a populist key. He continues, "Did we not have the opportunity to tell citizens what we have done and what we will do? In essence everything has been said."

普京问道，梅德韦杰夫为什么应该参加辩论、去讨论将会被清楚确定的问题？他说：“我们有机会告诉公民我们已经做了什么和我们将会做什么吗？其实所有事情都已经说过了。”

Mr. Putin says the opposition⁵ candidates - political unknown Andrei Bogdanov, Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov, and populist firebrand Vladimir Zhirinovsky - have been granted every opportunity to publicize their programs.

普京说，政界不知名人士博格丹诺夫、共产党领袖久加诺夫和煽动民粹争议的日里诺夫斯基这些反对党候选人有充分的机会来宣扬他们的竞选计划。

But none has challenged the front-runner's platform and opposition campaign advertising⁶ is barely visible. Televised political promotions⁷ are not frequent, and the candidates have little outdoor advertising.

但是没有任何人来挑战梅德韦杰夫的竞选纲领，而且很少能看见反对派的竞选广告。电视经常播放政治宣传，候选人的室外广告很少。

The most prominent election publicity⁸ amid a sea of commercial ads is a generic⁹ series of small billboards¹⁰ with a reminder¹¹ that March 2 is Election Day. Another series billboards in Moscow shows prominent Russians - Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, well-known actor Leonid Yakubovych, or Viktor Sadovnychy, an honorary citizen of the capital, announcing merely that they will vote.

在商业广告的海洋中，最令人瞩目的竞选宣传是一系列的小型标语牌，提醒人们留意3月2号是选举日。莫斯科另外一个系列标语牌是显示莫斯科市长卢日科夫、知名演员雅库波维奇或者显示莫斯科一位荣誉市民，标语牌上仅仅说，这些人都会投票。

The advertising seems aimed at increasing voter turnout. Although denied by the Kremlin, political analysts¹² say large institutions such as factories, hospitals and universities are being pressured to secure a 65 percent turnout to promote the legitimacy¹³ of the election.

宣传广告的目的似乎是为了增加投票率。克里姆林宫虽然否认，但政治分析人士说，工厂、医院和大学等大型机构正在被迫确保65%的投票率来提升选举的合法性。

Public opinion polls indicate Dmitri Medvedev will win handily in the first round. Muscovite Andrei Borodin intends to vote for him.

公共民意测验显示梅德韦杰夫将在第一轮投票中轻松获胜。

The Russian voter says everybody fundamentally understands that Medvedev is Putin's successor, adding that he is very pleased with Putin's policies and considers them to be those of order. Borodin says most Russian citizens feel the same.

莫斯科市民包罗丁说，他有意投票给梅德韦杰夫。包罗丁说：“每个人根本都了解，梅德韦杰夫是普京的继承人。” 他补充说，对普京的政策感到很满意，认为这些政策是有序的。包罗丁说，大部分俄罗斯公民都有共同的感受。

Russia's March second vote comes eight months before the U.S. election. By January, both countries will have new leaders, who will have arrived in office after completely different campaigns. But outgoing Russian president Vladimir Putin says it will be in the interests of both countries for their new leaders to cooperate.

俄罗斯总统普京说，两国新的领导人进行合作，符合两国的利益。