VOA常速英语2007年-Scholar Blasts Russia's Leaders, Predicts Downf

By Barry Wood
Washington
20 November 2007

Prominent Swedish scholar and Russia specialist Anders Aslund Monday said Vladimir Putin is rebuilding Russia as an authoritarian¹ regime and runs a corrupt² government. VOA's Barry Wood has more.

Aslund says that after a promising³ start under President Boris Yeltsin, democracy has failed under his successor Vladimir Putin. Since at least 2002, he says, Mr. Putin has been undoing⁴ Russia's fragile advances in democracy and moving towards a corrupt authoritarianism⁵ in which the state is again dominant⁶. Speaking at Washington's Peterson Institute where he is a senior fellow, Aslund said President Putin and his inner circle are enriching themselves by fraudulently obtaining ownership shares in Russian energy companies.

"I think today we are seeing the greatest larceny⁷ in any country that we have ever seen, not counting Saudi Arabia where there is no clear distinction between state finances and family finances," said Anders Aslund.

Aslund says he does not expect Mr. Putin to surrender power when his presidential term expires next year. Outlining the central conclusions of his just published book, "Russia's Capitalist Revolution," Aslund says there can be no doubt that Russia has created a market economy. But, he says, Russia's market economy goes hand in hand with its increasingly authoritarian political structure.

"I don't think that this [system] can hold," he said. "I think it will break. It will break because of corruption⁸. And it will be a political break rather than an economic break."

Speaking at the same forum⁹, Harvard University Professor Richard Pipes says building Democracy in Russia is not easy.

"I'm not at all convinced that even if you had pure capitalism¹⁰ in Russia you would have the rise of democracy," said Richard Pipes. "Russians are very insecure people."

Just returned from three weeks in Russia, Pipes said President Putin and his policies are popular and that polls suggest he enjoys 70 percent support from the public. He said Russia has a long tradition of favoring a strong ruler and that people generally equate¹¹ freedom with chaos¹².

Aslund says Russia's economic success is impressive with high rates of economic growth and real advances in per capita living standards.

1 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

2 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

3 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

4 undoing   

n.毁灭的原因，祸根；破坏，毁灭

参考例句：

• That one mistake was his undoing. 他一失足即成千古恨。
• This hard attitude may have led to his undoing. 可能就是这种强硬的态度导致了他的垮台。

5 authoritarianism   

权力主义，独裁主义

参考例句：

• Modern authoritarianism is a vestige of traditional personal rule. 现代独裁主义则是传统的个人统治的残余。
• In its latter days it was a byword for authoritarianism, incompetence, and corruption. 在后期，它是独裁、无能和腐化的代号。

6 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

7 larceny   

n.盗窃（罪）

参考例句：

• The man was put in jail for grand larceny.人因重大盗窃案而被监禁。
• It was an essential of the common law crime of larceny.它是构成普通法中的盗窃罪的必要条件。

8 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。

9 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

10 capitalism   

n.资本主义

参考例句：

• The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
• Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。

11 equate   

v.同等看待，使相等

参考例句：

• You can't equate passing examination and being intelligent.你不能把考试及格看成是聪明。
• You cannot equate his poems with his plays.你不可以把他的诗歌和他的剧本相提并论。

12 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。