VOA常速英语2008年-Sochi Residents Question Property Seizures for

By Peter Fedynsky
Sochi, Russia
11 April 2008

Sochi's winning bid for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games has been a mixed blessing¹ for many of the Russian resort city's residents. The joy of hosting such a prestigious² event has been accompanied by rising prices and the realization³ that many will lose homes to make way for Olympic sites. VOA correspondent Peter Fedynsky recently visited the city and reports widespread dissatisfaction with the process of taking people's private property.

For the past 13 years, Oleg Shcherbatsky has lived with his family on a Black Sea beach about a 45-minute drive from Sochi and the mountains where Olympic skiing events will be held in 2014. He and other residents of the region, known as Lower Imeretinka, say Olympic joy has turned into a catastrophe⁴. He expects to lose his land.

Shcherbatsky says he does not understand why a beach is needed for Olympic Games, a winter Olympics no less. He says residents of Lower Imeretinka suspect somebody has eyed their land, adding that it's not right to take it from them under the pretext⁵ of the Olympics.

Shcherbatsky says a Moscow architect has drawn⁶ up an alternative plan that works around existing homes, but that Russian officials refuse to discuss alternatives with the public.

Sochi Mayor Viktor Kolodiazhniy declined VOA's interview request to discuss people's concerns. He says he prefers not to talk with foreign media. Kolodiazhniy noted⁷, however, that people will be adequately compensated⁸.

Valeriy Suchkov, head of the Sochi Property Owners Association, says the mayor is repeating his assurance for the second year now, but that nobody believes him.

Suchkov adds that people understand the need to take private property for public use, a process known as eminent⁹ domain¹⁰, but not if it is seen as unfair.

The activist¹¹ says there should be commission, a legal procedure, and search for a balance of interests - state, social and private. But there is none of that, he says, and gestures to show the disposition¹² of property is rubber stamped by bureaucrats¹³ who fail to recognize the individual owner.

Suchkov says authorities are cutting deals directly with investors¹⁵ and arbitrarily forcing people out of homes in prime locations. He says Russian courts dismiss lawsuits¹⁶ against such sales. And so several homeowners have filed complaints with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

Russia has budgeted about $12 billion to prepare for the Sochi Games, more than the three previous Winter Olympics combined. Western technicians involved in infrastructure¹⁷ preparation say much of the money is being embezzled¹⁸ by government officials.

A representative of Base Element, one of the private Russian companies working on Olympic development projects, agreed to a VOA television interview to discuss such charges but then reneged. And Russian energy giant Gazprom, another major investor¹⁴ in the Games, prohibits videotaping at the ski area it is developing.

Sochi homeowners say this kind secrecy¹⁹ creates fears that powerful interests are using the Olympics as a pretext to take over their property.

James Brooke, director of external affairs for Jones Lang LaSalle, a U.S.-based company with real estate consulting contracts in Sochi, acknowledges the hardships facing property owners in the city.

"The Russian concept that this is for the greater good of turning this part of Sochi, which a basically is sort of swamplands, flatlands, lowlands right next to the Georgian border from a class C resort into a class A resort - generating more income, more revenue, more employment, more tax revenue," he said.

Brooke says about 500 kilometers of Russia's Black Sea coast will also be developed and will give the country's 145 million people an excellent tourist destination long after the Olympics are over.

Most Sochi residents understand that kind of explanation, even if they do not want to lose the comforts of a home on the beach, near the slopes, or in central Sochi. What they say they do not understand is why Russian officials deny their own people a say in a process that will profoundly affect their lives and livelihoods²⁰.

1 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

2 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

3 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

4 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

5 pretext   

n.借口，托词

参考例句：

• He used his headache as a pretext for not going to school.他借口头疼而不去上学。
• He didn't attend that meeting under the pretext of sickness.他以生病为借口，没参加那个会议。

6 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 compensated   

补偿，报酬( compensate的过去式和过去分词 )； 给（某人）赔偿（或赔款）

参考例句：

• The marvelous acting compensated for the play's weak script. 本剧的精彩表演弥补了剧本的不足。
• I compensated his loss with money. 我赔偿他经济损失。

9 eminent   

adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的

参考例句：

• We are expecting the arrival of an eminent scientist.我们正期待一位著名科学家的来访。
• He is an eminent citizen of China.他是一个杰出的中国公民。

10 domain   

n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围

参考例句：

• This information should be in the public domain.这一消息应该为公众所知。
• This question comes into the domain of philosophy.这一问题属于哲学范畴。

11 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

12 disposition   

n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署

参考例句：

• He has made a good disposition of his property.他已对财产作了妥善处理。
• He has a cheerful disposition.他性情开朗。

13 bureaucrats   

n.官僚( bureaucrat的名词复数 )；官僚主义；官僚主义者；官僚语言

参考例句：

• That is the fate of the bureaucrats, not the inspiration of statesmen. 那是官僚主义者的命运，而不是政治家的灵感。 来自辞典例句
• Big business and dozens of anonymous bureaucrats have as much power as Japan's top elected leaders. 大企业和许多不知名的官僚同日本选举出来的最高层领导者们的权力一样大。 来自辞典例句

14 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

15 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

16 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

17 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

18 embezzled   

v.贪污，盗用（公款）( embezzle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The clerk embezzled a thousand pounds from the bank where he worked. 那个职员在他工作的银行里贪污了一千英镑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cashier embezzled ＄ 50,000 from the bank. 出纳员盗用了银行5万美元。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

19 secrecy   

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

• All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
• Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。

20 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。