克里姆林宫 普京的克里姆林宫

　　翻译：菜菜 　　 　　Russia is the world’s largest country and the Kremlin is the political heart of Russia. For the last six years, one man has been in charge of this country, Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin machine has tried to sell him to the West as a 1)liberal democrat while, at the same time, selling him to the Russians as the hard man they think their country needs.
　　But in less than two years Putin will have to stand down. So what’s life like inside the Kremlin as one presidency nears its end and an unknown future 2)looms”
　　
　　“Master of Spin”
　　
　　Dimitri Pescov is officially First 3)Deputy to the Presidential Press Secretary. Unofficially, he’s known as the Kremlin’s, “Master of Spin注1.”Pescov: When I was a kid and I was going to school, I mean all this Kremlin and, actually, government leadership of the country, it was something so far away that, for example, you know that Australia exists; I e never been there but I believe that it exists. But it’s so far away that I’m never thinking about it, like something that…that lies very close. So the same attitude was towards the…towards the Kremlin. But, at the same time, well, the Red Square, that is here “it’s a very special place for all Russians. The [stone]注2 on this Red Square have seen so many leaders, have seen so many victories, everything was here. Everything was here. This Red Square witnessed the whole history of this country and, when I was a child, when I came here, it was a feeling of meeting something special, meeting something real, meeting the history itself [from] this country.
　　Dimitri Pescov’s office is in Kremlin Building No. 14, the offices of the Presidential Administration. That and the Senate Building, the office of the President himself, make this the most important piece of real estate in Russia. But the area within the two and a half kilometer walls that surround the Kremlin, was originally just the tiny walled city of 4)medieval Moscow. Now there are museums, concert halls and 5)cathedrals that you can visit as a tourist. But there are not that many tourists here when the temperature is minus 30 degrees.
　　
　　Putin’s 6)Stature
　　
　　The Kremlin Grand Palace is where the most important ceremonies are held. The rooms here date back to the great 7)imperial 8)tsars of the 19th century. In fact, the Kremlin Grand Palace is about to be used for a presidential event. Putin will be coming here to meet formally nine new ambassadors to the Russian Federation, and this will be my first chance to see the leader of the largest country in the world in person.
　　On seeing him, the first thing I notice is his 9)modest stature. But President Putin is the most important, and perhaps the most extraordinary character working within the Kremlin. And a Russian president probably has more power, personally, in his hands than any of the leaders in the West.
　　Vladimir Putin was 10)initially appointed to the Presidency rather than elected. In 1999, his predecessor, President Yeltsin, was facing an election, in poor health, and surrounded by 11)accusations of 12)corruption. Three months before that election, Yeltsin simply appointed the relatively unknown and, therefore 13)untarnished, Putin to the Presidency. The Kremlin political machine 14)swung into action behind the new man and in March 2000, Vladimir Vladimirovic Putin was 15)duly elected. But according to the 16)Constitution of the Russian Federation, he can only serve two terms, so, in 2008, Putin must 17)relinquish the Presidency.
　　
　　The Press Conference
　　
　　Back at the hotel, I get a message that I could get 18)accreditation for the Press Conference, and it might even be possible for me to ask the President a question. So, in an attempt to come up with a question about the end of Putin’s Presidency that’s personal, not too political, and non-19)confrontational, I begin an exchange of e-mails with Dimitri Pescov’s office.
　　It’s seven o’clock on the morning of the press conference and the temperature in Red Square is minus 20. The journalists who’ve managed to get accreditation start arriving at the Kremlin. It’ll take five hours to get them all through the security procedures. In the conference 20)chamber the final preparations are being made “Kremlin pencils are being handed out, translation 21)headsets are being unlocked from their 22)armrests, and the presidential microphones are being plugged in. Downstairs, the press are finally 23)trickling into the warmth of the building. The press conference starts at twelve o’clock and will be 24)televised for two hours to a potential audience of more than a hundred million. The doors to the conference room itself open two hours before the event begins and the early cameraman catches the best 25)tripod position. Moments before I took my place, I’d received from Pescov’s office a note which contained a version of one of my original questions.
　　This appears to be a slightly different Putin. He seems almost excited.
　　Denton: Over the last ten days, we’ve been filming you at many different events and meetings, both of the day, the evening and of the weekends, and I wondered how you personally feel, are you personally satisfied with it, or would you like to have achieved more”
　　Putin: No one can ever be content with what he has achieved if he is in good health and is honest with himself. One always wants more. I remember 1999, and the situation we were in, politically, economically and socially. There’s a big difference now, and it’s a positive difference. Of course there are still problems. I hope that we’ll be able, as we have before, to be able to solve them effectively.
　　
　　俄罗斯是世界上最大的国家，而克里姆林宫则是俄罗斯的政治中心。在过去6年里，弗拉基米尔・普京一直掌管着这个国家的大权。克里姆林宫总是试图一方面向西方打造他的自由民主派形象，另一方面则让俄罗斯人认为那正是他们国家所需要的硬派男人。
　　但还有不到两年时间，普京将不得不引退。当他的总统任期日渐临近尾声，俄罗斯即将跨入未知的将来时，克里姆林宫里的生活是什么样子的呢？
　　
　　“舆论导向师”
　　
　　迪米特里・帕斯科夫的公开头衔是总统新闻秘书的第一代表。他还有个不为人知的称号，那就是克里姆林宫的“舆论导向师”。
　　帕斯科夫：小时候，在我上学的时候，我觉得整个克里姆林宫以及，实际上，国家政府领导阶层之类的事情，对我来说都很遥远―举例而言，你知道世界上有个澳大利亚；我从未去过那里，但我知道有这么一个地方。然而它遥远得不曾在我脑海中出现，我不会把它看作是一些……一些近在咫尺的东西。所以我对……对克里姆林宫也有同样的感觉。但是，同时，呃，红场，就是说这儿―它对于所有俄罗斯人来说都是一个非常特别的地方。红场上的石头目睹了那么多领袖人物、那么多胜利成就，历史的一切都曾在此上演。一切都在此。红场见证了这个国家的全部历史。当我还是一个孩童时，当我来到这里，那种感觉就像前来拜访一些特别的东西，拜访一些真实的东西，拜访这个国家的历史本身。
　　迪米特里・帕斯科夫的办公室位于总统行政办公楼所在地―克里姆林宫第14号大楼。那儿以及参议院大楼，总统自己的办公室，构成了俄罗斯最重要的建筑物。然而，这块被克里姆林宫2.5公里长的围墙环绕的土地，最初不过是中世纪莫斯科一处丁点儿大的小小围城。而今，游客可以参观这里的博物馆、音乐大厅和大教堂。不过，当气温下降至零下30度时，游客也几乎不见踪影了。
　　
　　普京速写
　　
　　大克里姆林宫是举行重要仪式的地方。宫内这些房子可以追溯至19世纪的沙皇时代。事实上，大克里姆林宫很快就要用于一次总统级的盛事。普京将会亲临至此，正式接见9位驻俄罗斯联邦的新任大使，而这也将是我第一次有机会亲眼见到世界上最大国家的领导人。
　　见到他时，我注意到的第一件事情就是他谦和的态度。不过普京总统是最重要的，或许也是克里姆林宫中最不凡的人物。而俄罗斯总统很可能―我个人观点―手中掌握了远远大于任何西方领导人的权力。
　　弗拉基米尔・普京最初是被任命为总统，而非当选为总统。1999年，前任总统叶利钦在身体状况欠佳的情况下面临选举，同时也被腐败指控所困。在选举前3个月，叶利钦直接任命当时名不见经传，因此也未遭攻击的普京为总统。克里姆林宫的政治机器立即为新总统展开工作。2000年3月，弗拉基米尔・弗拉基米罗维奇・普京终于正式当选为总统。然而根据俄罗斯联邦的宪法，他只能连任两届，因此，在2008年，普京必须卸任总统职务。
　　
　　新闻发布会
　　
　　回到旅馆，我被告知自己得到允许参加新闻发布会，而且或许还可以在会上向总统提一个问题。所以，为了想出一个关于普京总统在任末期的问题―更私人的，不附带太多政治色彩，而且非对抗性的问题，我开始与迪米特里・帕斯科夫的办公室用电子邮件联络。
　　新闻发布会当天早上7点，红场上的气温是零下20度。获准参加发布会的记者纷纷抵达克里姆林宫。他们要花5小时才能一一通过安全程序。在会议厅内，人们正在进行最后的准备工作―工作人员正在派发克里姆林宫专用铅笔，把翻译耳机从扶手内调出，总统的麦克风也逐一插上电源。在楼下，媒体工作者一一走进温暖的大楼。新闻发布会将于上午12点开始，估计有超过一亿观众收看历时两个小时的电视直播。会议室的大门在会议正式开始前两小时敞开，早到场的摄影师才能找到好的拍摄位置。在就位前几分钟，我收到了迪米特里・帕斯科夫办公室的一张纸条，上面有我设计的其中一个问题。
　　今天的普京总统看起来与往日有些不同，他显得比较兴奋。
　　登顿：在过去十天里，从早到晚，甚至是周末，我们一直拍摄着您出席不同活动和会议的场面。我想知道您的个人感想，您是否对现状感到满意，还是想取得更大成绩？
　　普京：如果一个人身体健康又不自欺欺人，他就永远不会满足于所得。人总是想要更多。我仍记得1999年，以及当时我们所处的政治、经济和社会环境。现在的情况已经有了很大变化，而这种变化又是正面积极的。当然我们依然存在一些问题。我希望我们能一如既往地有效解决这些问题。