2006年VOA标准英语-Energy Revenues and Corruption Increase in Russ

By Anna Ardayeva
Moscow
13 July 2006
 
watch Corruption¹ Russia
 
  
  
Russia is gearing up to host the leaders of the worlds most developed countries at a G8 Summit in St. Petersburg. The leaders will get to see the fruit of the Russian energy boom: with oil prices soaring, the country is swimming in cash. But as Anya Ardayeva reports from Moscow, the meeting isn't expected to be all smooth-sailing -- the West is likely to express its concerns about a number of issues including backsliding on democracy and increasing corruption.

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It's been a pretty good year for Russia. As oil prices continue to grow, so do Russia's gold and foreign currency reserves, which are now the 4th largest in the world -- a remarkable² recovery after the 1998 ruble crisis.

But it's not only Russian money that grew. Experts say corruption also increased dramatically in the last few years and its levels are so high that it hampers³ economic growth. 

Vladimir Putin  
  
President Putin addressed this issue in his annual State of the Nation address in May. He said that corruption was one of the most serious barriers to Russia's development and that the state was failing to get rid of it.

Georgi Satarov, head of Moscow's Indem Foundation, has been studying Russian corruption for years. He says he's skeptical⁴ about the Russian leader's intention to fight corruption and predicts it will not go beyond public speeches.

Georgi Satarov   
  
"There's one reason why corruption grew so greatly in the last few years -- that there's absolutely no control over bureaucracy. During all the previous times, bureaucracy was somewhat controlled either by aristocracy, nobility or party leadership,” said Mr. Satarov.  He continued, “Or during Yeltsin times, there used to be effective opposition⁵, media freedom, diversified⁶ institutions of power, independent courts, more or less free civil society -- all of these served as controlling tools. During the last six years, all of these tools were destroyed."

 
Mikhail Grishankov
  
But others, like Mikhail Grishankov, head of the Anti-Corruption Committee at the State Duma, are more optimistic. "I am sure that very soon, these rules will start to change. Everyone will realize that the time of lawlessness is over. If you take Western Europe, I am sure no one there will have the idea of offering -- bribing⁷ -- to a policeman who stops them on the road. No one. They give it because they know that they will take it. "

Russian traffic police serve as the best example for how widespread corruption is in Russian society. Money will buy you out of virtually any trouble you might face on the road from exceeding a speeding limit to much more serious crimes.

Sergei Anikushin   
  
Moscow businessman Sergei Anikushin says money can buy you out of most violations⁸. "Even more serious violations of the rules can be sorted out for money. Recently, someone told me that if you kill someone on the road, it would cost you $50,000, maybe less, but definitely not more."

The 31-year-old businessman says bribing on the road comes naturally and doesn't think that anything can -- or should -- change. "I think it’s impossible to change anything aside from assisting law enforcement organs when they try to arrest those who take bribes⁹. If someone from the state services, who you are dealing¹⁰ with is asking you for money, you can go to police and punish this person. The other thing is how then your problem will be solved. Not everyone of us is ready to spend personal time on fighting windmills."

Experts agree that in order to root out Russian corruption, the state needs a full-scale anti-corruption policy. But critics say that in a country where all television channels belong to the state, political competition is virtually non-existent and prosecution¹¹ is selective. Public cynicism is so deep that any steps to fight corruption would be taken as a temporary and useless measure.

1 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。

2 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

3 hampers   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Prejudice sometimes hampers a person from doing the right thing. 有时候，偏见会妨碍人正确行事。
• This behavior is the opposite of modeless feedback, and it hampers flow. 这个行为有悖于非模态的反馈，它阻碍了流。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

4 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 diversified   

adj.多样化的，多种经营的v.使多样化，多样化( diversify的过去式和过去分词 )；进入新的商业领域

参考例句：

• The college biology department has diversified by adding new courses in biotechnology. 该学院生物系通过增加生物技术方面的新课程而变得多样化。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Take grain as the key link, develop a diversified economy and ensure an all-round development. 以粮为纲，多种经营，全面发展。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 bribing   

贿赂

参考例句：

• He tried to escape by bribing the guard. 他企图贿赂警卫而逃走。
• Always a new way of bribing unknown and maybe nonexistent forces. 总是用诸如此类的新方法来讨好那不知名的、甚或根本不存在的魔力。 来自英汉非文学 - 科幻

8 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

9 bribes   

n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏

10 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

11 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。