Russia and theWest Slip and slide

　　俄羅斯與西方世界 跌落并下滑

　　Change or Decay: Russia s Dilemma and the West sResponse. By Lilia Shevtsova and Andrew Wood.

　　是變化還是衰退：俄羅斯的困境及西方的回應(yīng)。作者麗莉婭謝夫索娃、安德魯伍德。

　　This book, says Mikhail Gorbachev, the formerSoviet leader, in a foreword, is different, anddeserves to make an impact. The first is certainlytrue. It takes the form of a lengthy series of exchanges between two old friends: LiliaShevtsova, a Russian who works for America s Carnegie Endowment in Moscow, and SirAndrew Wood, a former British ambassador there. Their subject is the relationship betweenRussia and the West, still neurotic and plagued with misunderstandings 20 years after theSoviet collapse. Why do so many Russians feel threatened, betrayed and disappointed bythe West? Some there see it as a flawed paradigm of human rights, free elections and therule of law. Others find it a self-righteous bully.

　　這本書與眾不同，能夠產(chǎn)生有益的影響。前蘇聯(lián)領(lǐng)導人米哈伊爾戈爾巴喬夫在前言中如是說。第一個當然是對的。它就像兩個老朋友之間的長話家常：效力于位于莫斯科的美國卡內(nèi)基基金會的俄羅斯人麗莉婭謝夫索娃，以及曾被派駐在那里的英國前任大使安德魯伍德。他們的主題是俄羅斯和西方之間的關(guān)系，這種關(guān)系在蘇聯(lián)解體后的20年仍有些敏感并且存在誤解。為什么如此多的俄羅斯人感到了來自西方的威脅、背叛和失望?一些人認為是有缺陷的關(guān)于人權(quán)、自由選舉和法治示范。另一些人則認為是一種自以為是的霸權(quán)。

　　Ms Shevtsova politely bemoans a failure of imagination in the West. Too comfortable withthe old bipolar world, it splurged cash when it should have imposed conditions, was stingywhen it should have been generous and naive when it should have been tough. Tolerancefor Boris Yeltsin s faults opened the way for the rigged elections and crony capitalism ofVladimir Putin s ex-KGB regime. Her interlocutor s realism is an excellent foil for thisidealistic approach. European and American leaders, he argues, were stumbling about inthe dark. For all their faults, it would have been unrealistic to expect much more of them.Mr Yeltsin s rule did not inevitably presage Mr Putin s.

　　謝夫索娃對西方的 失敗的想象力稍感惋惜。安逸于過去的兩極世界，在應(yīng)該強加條件的時候揮霍現(xiàn)金，在應(yīng)該大方的時候吝嗇，在應(yīng)該嚴厲的時候幼稚。對鮑里斯葉利欽所犯錯誤的容忍為作弊選舉和裙帶資本主義普京的前蘇聯(lián)國家安全委員會政權(quán)打開了道路。她的談話者的現(xiàn)實主義是這種現(xiàn)實方法的陪襯。他認為，歐美領(lǐng)導人 正在黑暗中跌倒。鑒于他們所有的過錯，再指望他們是不現(xiàn)實的。葉利欽的統(tǒng)治不見得就預(yù)示著普京的統(tǒng)治。

　　New failures come in for scrutiny too. America in 2009 reset relations with the regime inRussia, bringing some gains but sacrificing Western moral credibility.They rightly decry the unhealthily close ties of some European politicians to theircounterparts in Russia.

　　新的過錯也受到極大關(guān)注。2009美國曾重新設(shè)定和俄羅斯國家政權(quán)的關(guān)系，取得了一定成果，但犧牲了西方的道德信譽。他們譴責了一些歐洲和俄羅斯政客之間過分親密的關(guān)系。

　　The debate coins useful and vivid terms. Ms Shevtsova s description of the imitationpartnership between Russia and the West is acute. So is Sir Andrew s description of theWest as a simultaneous magnet, threat and rebuke to Russia. He recasts the West smessage to Russian oligarchs wanting to immigrate: give me your rich, your sated, yearningto breathe safe. A sharp insight concerns asymmetry. Russian leaders obsessively searchfor slights, weaknesses and plots in the world outside. Traffic the other way is scant. MsShevtsova notes how few Russians realise that the world is fed up with our problems.

　　這個爭論創(chuàng)造了有用而生動的術(shù)語。謝夫索娃關(guān)于俄羅斯和歐洲之間的效仿合作關(guān)系是敏銳的，同樣的，安德魯認為西方對俄羅斯來說是同步的磁鐵、威脅和指責。他重新解釋了西方傳達給那些想要移民的俄羅斯寡頭：把你們的財富、貪婪、對安全的渴望都給我。一個有關(guān)不對等的深刻洞察。俄羅斯領(lǐng)導人著迷般的在外部世界尋找忽視、軟弱和密謀。尋找其他方法時間太短。謝夫索娃指出只有少數(shù)的俄羅斯人認識到外部世界厭惡了我們的問題。

　　Both see bleak views ahead. Ms Shevtsova believes that the elite s misrule is demoralisingsociety and could bring Russia down in flames Sir Andrew says that the smell of danger isin the air. Their joint conclusion likens Russia to a theatre: the play is over but the actorswill not leave the stage and keep trying to win attention for what has become a plotlessrigmarole; the audience feels trapped, bored and frustrated.

　　雙方都看到了前面的問題。謝夫索娃相信上層的暴政正在打擊社會士氣并可能帶領(lǐng)俄羅斯走向滅亡安德魯則說空氣中有一股危險的氣味。他們共同的結(jié)論是把俄羅斯比作一個戲劇：戲劇已經(jīng)結(jié)束，但是演員們不愿離開舞臺，并試圖為沒有情節(jié)、冗長的內(nèi)容贏得關(guān)注;觀眾則感到收困、厭倦、沮喪。

　　Reading the book is like being an eavesdropper as two companions take a long countrywalk. They chew over great mutual concerns, sometimes with gentle teasing, mostlyhelping each other over intellectual obstacles, pondering the way ahead and the lessons ofthe path already taken. The effect is intimate but a touch claustrophobic. One begins tohunger for some other views, even if less elegantly and sympathetically expressed.

　　讀這本書就像是偷聽兩個在鄉(xiāng)村道路上漫步的人一樣。他們深思共同關(guān)心的問題，有時會帶有嘲諷，但更多的時候互相幫助來解決智力問題，思索前方的道路以及過去的經(jīng)驗。其效果是親密的但有一點幽閉恐怖。即使溫和地表示了同情，其中一方開始尋求其他觀點。

　　Russia and theWest Slip and slide

　　俄羅斯與西方世界 跌落并下滑

　　Change or Decay: Russia s Dilemma and the West sResponse. By Lilia Shevtsova and Andrew Wood.

　　是變化還是衰退：俄羅斯的困境及西方的回應(yīng)。作者麗莉婭謝夫索娃、安德魯伍德。

　　This book, says Mikhail Gorbachev, the formerSoviet leader, in a foreword, is different, anddeserves to make an impact. The first is certainlytrue. It takes the form of a lengthy series of exchanges between two old friends: LiliaShevtsova, a Russian who works for America s Carnegie Endowment in Moscow, and SirAndrew Wood, a former British ambassador there. Their subject is the relationship betweenRussia and the West, still neurotic and plagued with misunderstandings 20 years after theSoviet collapse. Why do so many Russians feel threatened, betrayed and disappointed bythe West? Some there see it as a flawed paradigm of human rights, free elections and therule of law. Others find it a self-righteous bully.

　　這本書與眾不同，能夠產(chǎn)生有益的影響。前蘇聯(lián)領(lǐng)導人米哈伊爾戈爾巴喬夫在前言中如是說。第一個當然是對的。它就像兩個老朋友之間的長話家常：效力于位于莫斯科的美國卡內(nèi)基基金會的俄羅斯人麗莉婭謝夫索娃，以及曾被派駐在那里的英國前任大使安德魯伍德。他們的主題是俄羅斯和西方之間的關(guān)系，這種關(guān)系在蘇聯(lián)解體后的20年仍有些敏感并且存在誤解。為什么如此多的俄羅斯人感到了來自西方的威脅、背叛和失望?一些人認為是有缺陷的關(guān)于人權(quán)、自由選舉和法治示范。另一些人則認為是一種自以為是的霸權(quán)。

　　Ms Shevtsova politely bemoans a failure of imagination in the West. Too comfortable withthe old bipolar world, it splurged cash when it should have imposed conditions, was stingywhen it should have been generous and naive when it should have been tough. Tolerancefor Boris Yeltsin s faults opened the way for the rigged elections and crony capitalism ofVladimir Putin s ex-KGB regime. Her interlocutor s realism is an excellent foil for thisidealistic approach. European and American leaders, he argues, were stumbling about inthe dark. For all their faults, it would have been unrealistic to expect much more of them.Mr Yeltsin s rule did not inevitably presage Mr Putin s.

　　謝夫索娃對西方的 失敗的想象力稍感惋惜。安逸于過去的兩極世界，在應(yīng)該強加條件的時候揮霍現(xiàn)金，在應(yīng)該大方的時候吝嗇，在應(yīng)該嚴厲的時候幼稚。對鮑里斯葉利欽所犯錯誤的容忍為作弊選舉和裙帶資本主義普京的前蘇聯(lián)國家安全委員會政權(quán)打開了道路。她的談話者的現(xiàn)實主義是這種現(xiàn)實方法的陪襯。他認為，歐美領(lǐng)導人 正在黑暗中跌倒。鑒于他們所有的過錯，再指望他們是不現(xiàn)實的。葉利欽的統(tǒng)治不見得就預(yù)示著普京的統(tǒng)治。

　　New failures come in for scrutiny too. America in 2009 reset relations with the regime inRussia, bringing some gains but sacrificing Western moral credibility.They rightly decry the unhealthily close ties of some European politicians to theircounterparts in Russia.

　　新的過錯也受到極大關(guān)注。2009美國曾重新設(shè)定和俄羅斯國家政權(quán)的關(guān)系，取得了一定成果，但犧牲了西方的道德信譽。他們譴責了一些歐洲和俄羅斯政客之間過分親密的關(guān)系。

　　The debate coins useful and vivid terms. Ms Shevtsova s description of the imitationpartnership between Russia and the West is acute. So is Sir Andrew s description of theWest as a simultaneous magnet, threat and rebuke to Russia. He recasts the West smessage to Russian oligarchs wanting to immigrate: give me your rich, your sated, yearningto breathe safe. A sharp insight concerns asymmetry. Russian leaders obsessively searchfor slights, weaknesses and plots in the world outside. Traffic the other way is scant. MsShevtsova notes how few Russians realise that the world is fed up with our problems.

　　這個爭論創(chuàng)造了有用而生動的術(shù)語。謝夫索娃關(guān)于俄羅斯和歐洲之間的效仿合作關(guān)系是敏銳的，同樣的，安德魯認為西方對俄羅斯來說是同步的磁鐵、威脅和指責。他重新解釋了西方傳達給那些想要移民的俄羅斯寡頭：把你們的財富、貪婪、對安全的渴望都給我。一個有關(guān)不對等的深刻洞察。俄羅斯領(lǐng)導人著迷般的在外部世界尋找忽視、軟弱和密謀。尋找其他方法時間太短。謝夫索娃指出只有少數(shù)的俄羅斯人認識到外部世界厭惡了我們的問題。

　　Both see bleak views ahead. Ms Shevtsova believes that the elite s misrule is demoralisingsociety and could bring Russia down in flames Sir Andrew says that the smell of danger isin the air. Their joint conclusion likens Russia to a theatre: the play is over but the actorswill not leave the stage and keep trying to win attention for what has become a plotlessrigmarole; the audience feels trapped, bored and frustrated.

　　雙方都看到了前面的問題。謝夫索娃相信上層的暴政正在打擊社會士氣并可能帶領(lǐng)俄羅斯走向滅亡安德魯則說空氣中有一股危險的氣味。他們共同的結(jié)論是把俄羅斯比作一個戲劇：戲劇已經(jīng)結(jié)束，但是演員們不愿離開舞臺，并試圖為沒有情節(jié)、冗長的內(nèi)容贏得關(guān)注;觀眾則感到收困、厭倦、沮喪。

　　Reading the book is like being an eavesdropper as two companions take a long countrywalk. They chew over great mutual concerns, sometimes with gentle teasing, mostlyhelping each other over intellectual obstacles, pondering the way ahead and the lessons ofthe path already taken. The effect is intimate but a touch claustrophobic. One begins tohunger for some other views, even if less elegantly and sympathetically expressed.

　　讀這本書就像是偷聽兩個在鄉(xiāng)村道路上漫步的人一樣。他們深思共同關(guān)心的問題，有時會帶有嘲諷，但更多的時候互相幫助來解決智力問題，思索前方的道路以及過去的經(jīng)驗。其效果是親密的但有一點幽閉恐怖。即使溫和地表示了同情，其中一方開始尋求其他觀點。