俄罗斯是欧洲各国最危险的邻居

2014-10-08 16:56:22来源：可可英语

　　Russia is both a tragedy and a menace. In theFinancial Times this week Sergey Karaganov offeredan arresting insight into the blend of self-pity andbraggadocio currently at work in Moscow. It is asdepressing as it is disturbing. Western policymakers seem to believe the Islamic State of Iraq andthe Levant (known as Isis) is the greater danger. ButRussia is the nuclear-armed rump of a formersuperpower and, ruled by an amoral autocrat, itfrightens me even more. For Europe and, I believe,the US, there is no greater foreign policy questionthan how to deal with today’s Russia.

　　俄罗斯既是一场悲剧，也是一个威胁。近日的英国《金融时报》上，谢尔盖•卡拉加诺夫(SergeyKaraganov)发表了一篇引人入胜的文章，深刻阐述了莫斯科相互交织的自怜与自负情绪。文中的内容既让人沮丧，也让人不安。西方政策制定者似乎相信“伊拉克与黎凡特伊斯兰国”(ISIS)的危险性更大。但前身是超级大国、拥有核武器、由一个无道德感的独裁者统治的俄罗斯更让我恐惧。对欧洲来说，如何应对当今的俄罗斯是最大的外交政策难题，在我看来对美国来说也是如此。

　　The west “proclaimed itself victor in the cold war”, according to Mr Karaganov. Maybe theorigin of the tragedy can be found in this remark. The west did not just proclaim itself victor;it was the victor. A defensive alliance defeated the Soviet Union because it offered a betterway of life. That is why so many wanted to escape the Soviet prison, including many once-optimistic Russians.

　　卡拉加诺夫表示，西方“宣告自己是冷战(Cold War)的胜者”。也许我们能从这句话里找到悲剧的根源。西方不仅仅宣告自己是胜者;西方那时也的确是胜者。西方的防务同盟打败了苏联(Soviet Union)，因为它提供了更好的生活方式。这也是为什么那么多人都想要逃离苏联的牢笼，包括许多一度乐观的俄罗斯人。

　　Yet President Vladimir Putin, the latest in a long line of Russian autocrats, has stated, instead: “The collapse of the Soviet Union was a major geopolitical disaster of the century.” It was, infact, an opportunity, one that many in central and eastern Europe seized with both hands. Thetransition to a new way of life proved unavoidably difficult. The world they now inhabit ishighly imperfect. But they have mostly joined the world of civilised modernity. What does thismean? It means intellectual and economic freedom. It means the right to engage freely inpublic life. It means governments subject to the rule of law and accountable to their people.

　　然而，俄罗斯长长的独裁者名单上最新的一位，俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔•普京(Vladimir Putin)却宣称：“苏联解体是那个世纪的重大地缘政治灾难。”事实上，苏联解体是许多中欧和东欧人全力抓住的机会。向新的生活方式过渡存在困难是难免的。他们现在所处的世界极为不完美。但他们基本上加入了文明和现代的世界。这是什么意思?意思是人们思想和经济自由，拥有自由参与公共生活的权利，政府受法治约束，向人民负责。

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