VOA常速英语2008年-Russian-British Relations Frosty as Russia Hold

By Mandy Clark
London
27 February 2008

When Russian voters go to the polls March 2, they will choose a successor to President Vladimir Putin, who has been widely credited in Russia with restoring some of the country's international clout¹. But, in the West many are casting an increasingly wary² glance at what is seen as a resurgence³ of Russian nationalism, power and influence. Relations between Russia and Britain have been especially frosty, as Mandy Clark reports for VOA from London.

In a packed London gallery, crowds admire masterpieces from Russia's most famous museums.

The sold-out exhibit was almost canceled because Moscow feared the art might be impounded as part of an ownership dispute dating back to the 1917 Russian Revolution.

But both governments resolved their differences. The London Royal Academy of Art's Curator, Ann Dumas, dismisses the suggestion the exhibition was being used as a political pawn⁴.

"We thought at first that it was more about the wider political issue, but we realized that it was not the case," said Dumas.

Another cultural exchange did not fare so well. In January, the British Council closed some of its cultural offices in St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg under pressure from Russia's intelligence service, which summoned the organization's Russian staff for questioning.

Britain's Foreign Secretary accused Russia of "intimidation⁵."

Presidential candidate and likely Putin successor, First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev accused Britain of spying.

His outburst surprised many Russian political observers who viewed Medvedev as a liberal force who would help improve relations with the West. But in a recent interview, he again accused the British Council of involvement in "gathering⁶ information and conducting intelligence activity."

It was the death of a former Russian spy in London that saw a dramatic decline in relations between Britain and Russia.

Alexander Litvinenko died in November 2006 after being poisoned by radioactive polonium. Scotland Yard has accused another former Russian intelligence officer, Andrei Lugovoi, of murdering him. Russia refuses to extradite him to stand trial.

Litvinenko's widow, Marina, doubts she will ever see justice done.

"I hope but it is more optimistic than realistic," she said. "When I got contact with Scotland Yard they told me it was very strong evidence and if it was not so strong, they would never ask to extradite Lugovoi because they could predict it was going to be some problems between these two countries. It was not organized by Putin - the murder of my husband - but I am absolutely sure it could not have happened without his knowledge."

It is an accusation⁷ that President Putin has always denied.

London School of Economics Russia expert Margot Light says Russia feels under threat by the recent democratic revolutions in the former Soviet⁸ countries of Georgia, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan.

"The conviction grew in Moscow these popular uprisings that were not bloody⁹, but nevertheless caused huge political change, had been instigated¹⁰ by the West and funded by the West and I think that then became the primary fear that Western governments were set to do that in Russia as well," said Light.

Russia has also criticized Britain, along with other Western countries including the United States, for recognizing Kosovo's February 17 independence declaration. Candidate Medvedev says sovereignty for the former Serbian province threatens security and stability in Europe, a point of view rejected by Western nations, that say Kosovo is a special case because of its mistreatment by Serbia.

Light says another sticking point between the two countries concerns wealthy Russian dissidents like Boris Berezovsky. He has political asylum¹¹ and Britain has refused to extradite Berezovksy to Russia where he stands accused of fraud and political corruption¹². Yet while in London, he has threatened to help overthrow¹³ Mr. Putin and his ruling party.

"I think Berezovsky plays an extremely provocative¹⁴ role and is quite often a great embarrassment¹⁵ to the British government, and I think he has been warned several times that the one thing that will actually jeopardize¹⁶ his position is that if he engages in the kinds of activities that he undertook not to do when he got refugee status," said Light.

Back among the exhibit of priceless works of art, Irina Antonova from Moscow's Pushkin Museum explains the importance of the display.

She says exhibition started as a dialogue of understanding between the two cultures. That need for dialogue and understanding between cultures seems more relevant than ever.

Many say dialogue and understanding between cultures is more relevant than ever.

1 clout   

n.用手猛击；权力，影响力

参考例句：

• The queen may have privilege but she has no real political clout.女王有特权，但无真正的政治影响力。
• He gave the little boy a clout on the head.他在那小男孩的头部打了一下。

2 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

3 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。

4 pawn   

n.典当，抵押，小人物，走卒；v.典当，抵押

参考例句：

• He is contemplating pawning his watch.他正在考虑抵押他的手表。
• It looks as though he is being used as a political pawn by the President.看起来他似乎被总统当作了政治卒子。

5 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

6 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

7 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

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 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

10 instigated   

v.使（某事物）开始或发生，鼓动( instigate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government has instigated a programme of economic reform. 政府已实施了经济改革方案。
• He instigated the revolt. 他策动了这次叛乱。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

12 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

13 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

14 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

15 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

16 jeopardize   

vt.危及，损害

参考例句：

• Overworking can jeopardize your health.工作过量可能会危及你的健康。
• If you are rude to the boss it may jeopardize your chances of success.如果你对上司无礼，那就可能断送你成功的机会。