VOA标准英语2008年-Independent Russian Presidential Bid in Jeopard

By Peter Fedynsky
Moscow
22 January 2008

The independent presidential bid of Russia's Mikhail Kasyanov is in jeopardy¹ after the Russian prosecutor² accused his campaign of forging signatures on a petition required to register for the election. VOA's Peter Fedynsky has more.

In an announcement carried on all major Russian television newscasts, the spokeswoman for the prosecutor-general, Tatyana Chernyshova, said evidence of forgery³ has emerged in the western Russian town of Rybinsk on nominating petitions filed by opposition⁴ candidate Mikhail Kasyanov. 

The spokeswoman said similar violations⁵ were uncovered by prosecutors⁶ in the Volga River province of Mari El.  She adds that a regional prosecutor has launched criminal proceedings⁷ in the case. 

The allegations of forgery in Mari El are said to involve 12,000 signatures. 

Last week, Kasyanov filed two million signatures to register as an independent candidate for Russia's March 2 presidential election.  Candidates from political parties represented in Parliament are not required to submit signatures.

But a Russian Central Election Commission official, Nikolai Konkin, says a sampling of 400,000 signatures filed by Kasyanov shows more than 15 percent are inadmissible.  A candidate is dismissed in Russia if only five percent are deemed invalid⁸.  The Commission will review another large sample of signatures before making a determination about Kasyanov's eligibility⁹.

Mikhail Kasyanov served more than three years as prime minister before his dismissal in 2004 by President Vladimir Putin.  The former prime minister later became a vocal¹⁰ Kremlin critic.

At a Moscow news conference Tuesday, he accused the Kremlin of engaging in intimidation¹¹ and defamation¹², because it fears direct political competition.

Kasyanov says competition would mean opposition access to television, which would allow citizens to learn about alternative views of events in Russia and abroad. 

Also present at the news conference were Kasyanov allies from various regions of the country.  They told similar stories of official intimidation, including threats of job loss and late night visits to the homes of Kasyanov allies.  

Suzanna Tsaraturian says she was questioned by police in Moscow about her gathering¹³ signatures for the candidate.  She says the police who questioned her usually deal with organized crime.

Tsaraturian notes that gathering signatures is somehow equated¹⁴ with organized crime.  She says it is absurd and disgraceful that police arrive without notice and barge¹⁵ into people's homes. 

Kasyanov says although he is afraid of the apparent attempt to intimidate¹⁶ him, he has no intention of withdrawing from the presidential race, because he considers that Russia's constitution, democracy, and the country are at stake. 

President Putin last month named First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev as his chosen successor.  The support is widely viewed as a virtual guarantee of Medvedev's victory.

With less than two months before the election, there have been no debates and virtually no other signs of political campaign.

1 jeopardy   

n.危险；危难

参考例句：

• His foolish behaviour may put his whole future in jeopardy.他愚蠢的行为可能毁了他一生的前程。
• It is precisely at this juncture that the boss finds himself in double jeopardy.恰恰在这个关键时刻，上司发现自己处于进退两难的境地。

2 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

3 forgery   

n.伪造的文件等，赝品，伪造（行为）

参考例句：

• The painting was a forgery.这张画是赝品。
• He was sent to prison for forgery.他因伪造罪而被关进监狱。

4 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。

5 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。

6 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

7 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

8 invalid   

n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的

参考例句：

• He will visit an invalid.他将要去看望一个病人。
• A passport that is out of date is invalid.护照过期是无效的。

9 eligibility   

n.合格，资格

参考例句：

• What are the eligibility requirements? 病人被选参加试验的要求是什么？ 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望
• Eligibility for HINARI access is based on gross national income (GNI). 进入HINARI获取计划是依据国民总收入来评定的。

10 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

11 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。

12 defamation   

n.诽谤；中伤

参考例句：

• Character defamation can be either oral or written.人格诽谤既可以是口头的也可以是书面的。
• The company sued for defamation.这个公司因受到诽谤而提起诉讼。

13 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。

14 equated   

adj.换算的v.认为某事物（与另一事物）相等或相仿( equate的过去式和过去分词 )；相当于；等于；把（一事物） 和（另一事物）等同看待

参考例句：

• Production costs for the movie equated to around 30% of income. 这部电影的制作成本相当于收益的30%。
• Politics cannot be equated with art. 政治不能同艺术等同起来。

15 barge   

n.平底载货船，驳船

参考例句：

• The barge was loaded up with coal.那艘驳船装上了煤。
• Carrying goods by train costs nearly three times more than carrying them by barge.通过铁路运货的成本比驳船运货成本高出近3倍。

16 intimidate   

vt.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• You think you can intimidate people into doing what you want?你以为你可以威胁别人做任何事？
• The first strike capacity is intended mainly to intimidate adversary.第一次攻击的武力主要是用来吓阻敌方的。