Russia and its image
俄罗斯及其形象

Put in more flags
插上更多的旗帜

May 14th 2009 | MOSCOW
From The Economist print edition

What military parades and song contests say about Russia’s future
阅兵与歌唱大赛对俄国的未来有何预示

AMID Russia’s anti-crisis measures, the military parade on Red Square on May 9th was spectacular. Some 9,000 soldiers goose-stepped past political leaders. Tanks, rocket launchers and ballistic-missile carriers scratched the cobblestones; bombers, jets and helicopters flew above St Basil’s Cathedral. The show is meant to mark victory in the second world war. But this genuinely national holiday has long been appropriated by the Kremlin for ideological ends. Rather than celebrating the war’s end, this military parade represented Russia’s readiness for a new fight.

在俄罗斯对抗危机的措施中，五月九日在红场举行的阅兵蔚为壮观。约九千名士兵迈着正步经过政治领袖面前；坦克、火箭发射器与弹道导弹运载车伴随着刺耳的摩擦声碾过卵石路面，轰炸机、喷气机与直升机飞越圣巴西尔大教堂的上空。这场展示活动旨在纪念（俄国）在第二次世界大战中的胜利，但这一真正意义上的全国性节假日长久以来被克里姆林宫用作意识形态方面的目的。与其说阅兵是在庆祝战争的结束，不如说它反映出俄国已准备好踏上新的征程。

President Dmitry Medvedev affirmed in his address that the lessons of the war against the Nazis were “relevant today, given the outsiders who are interested in embarking on military adventures.” And, making the reference to Georgia even more explicit, he added that “among the descendants of war heroes marching in the square are those who in actual battle have demonstrated the great fighting efficiency of the modern Russian army.”

德米特里•梅德韦杰夫总统在他的讲话中肯定了从那场对抗纳粹的战争中获得的经验“对于今日而言仍有关联；这是鉴于存在着有兴趣进行军事冒险的外部国家。”此外他还更为明确地提及了格鲁吉亚，他补充道：“在广场上行进的战争英雄的后代中，有那些已经在实际战斗中展示了现代俄国军队强大战斗效率的战士们。”

There was no room in the celebrations to mention Russia’s wartime allies or to re-examine Stalin’s destructive war strategy. “The country that won the war has disappeared, self-destructed,” Viktor Astafyev, a late Russian writer and war veteran once wrote in a letter. “The more you lie about the past war, the quicker you bring about the next one,” he declared in another.

庆典活动没有为提及俄罗斯的战时盟友或再次检视斯大林的毁灭性战争策略留下空间。一位已故的俄国作家兼老兵维克多•阿斯塔菲耶夫曾在一封信中写道：“赢得战争的国家已经消失了，自我毁灭了。”在另一封信中他则断言：“你对于过去的战争撒谎越多，你迎来下一场战争也就越快。”

On his video-blog Mr Medvedev hit out at attempts to falsify history by former Soviet republics. Anyone who questions the official version of Russia’s victory or talks of Soviet occupation may soon face criminal charges in Russia. The Kremlin has massively rewritten history, approving textbooks that rehabilitate Stalin as an “effective manager.” And it often turns a blind eye to the fascist talk of ultra-nationalists.

梅德韦杰夫在他的视频博客中猛烈攻击了原苏维埃加盟共和国篡改历史的企图。不久在俄国，任何质疑官方版本的俄国胜利史或谈及苏维埃占领史的人都可能面临刑事诉讼。克里姆林宫已在大规模重修历史，认可那些将斯大林还原为一位“有力的管理者”的教科书。同时，它常常对于极端民族主义者的法西斯式言论不闻不问。

At a time of financial crisis, this posturing is meant not only to project Russian invincibility but also to compensate for falling incomes and rising unemployment. To maximise the therapeutic value of the parade it was preceded by full-scale public rehearsals that won top billing in news bulletins. That some 100,000 Russian war veterans do not even have flats took second place to a show that cost an estimated 3 billion roubles ($94m), half of it for patching up the road surfaces it damaged.

在金融危机的时代，这一姿态不仅旨在投射出俄罗斯的不败形象，而且也是在抵消日益减少的收入与攀升的失业率（带来的痛苦）。为了让阅兵式发挥出最大的治愈价值，在此之前还进行了几次规模完整并登上新闻公报头条的公开彩排。大约十万名甚至连公寓都没有的俄国老兵（的需求）让位于这场估计耗资三十亿卢布（合9400万美元）的展示活动，耗费的资金有一半是为了修补在活动中受损的路面。

Nor is Russia economising on another flag-waving event, the Eurovision song contest, which it is hosting. The coincidence of the two shows exemplifies the glitzy entertainment and sabre-rattling that are so close in Kremlin ideology. Konstantin Ernst, who commands Russia’s main state TV channel and is in charge of Eurovision, said it was the “external political effect” that mattered. The impact was heightened when Vladimir Putin, the prime minister, came fresh from the victory parade to the Olympic arena on May 9th to check up on preparations for the song contest. In the past Kremlinologists monitored Soviet leaders by their line-up above Lenin’s mausoleum. Now it is by their appearance at Eurovision.

俄国在另一项起摇旗呐喊之功效的活动中也没有吝惜，这便是今年由它主办的欧洲电视网歌唱大赛。两场表演的巧合说明了在克里姆林宫的意识形态中，眩目娱乐与武力展示十分相近。俄罗斯主要国营电视频道的管理者与本届歌唱大赛的负责人康斯坦丁•恩斯特便指出：“外部政治效应”方才事关重大。当五月九日，弗拉基米尔•普京总理从胜利阅兵的现场直接赶赴奥林匹克竞技场以检查歌唱大赛的准备工作时，这种影响被提升了。在过去，苏联研究者们观察该国领导人在列宁墓上的站位；如今，他们则观察后者在歌唱大赛上的出席情况。

After a year of Mr Medvedev’s presidency, a third of Russians feel that Mr Putin is still in charge; only 12% believe that Mr Medvedev has supreme power. In an interview with the Japanese media ahead of his visit there, Mr Putin did not duck the question of who might be Russia’s next president. “President Medvedev and I will decide what we will do, depending on the results of our work,” he said, adding that Mr Medvedev was a “very honourable man who would consider his political future according to the country’s interests.” This suggests that Mr Putin expects his protégé to honour whatever agreement they have reached. A popular vote does not seem to feature in the process.

在梅德韦杰夫担任总统一年之后，三分之一的俄国人觉得普京仍旧是第一把手；只有12%的人相信梅德韦杰夫大权在握。普京在出访日本前接受该国媒体采访时，并没有回避谁将成为俄国下任总统的问题，他答道：“梅德韦杰夫总统与我将决定我们未来的行动，这将视我们的工作结果而定。”他又补充说梅德韦杰夫是一个“会根据国家利益考虑个人政治前途的、非常值得尊重的人。”这意味着普京期待受他提携的梅德韦杰夫能尊重两人之前所达成的任何协定。在这一过程中，民众的投票似乎不占主要位置。

Mr Putin’s comments have reinforced expectations that he will return as president (for two six-year terms) when Mr Medvedev’s term expires in 2012. As for Mr Medvedev, the Moscow rumour mill says he may fancy becoming boss of the constitutional court, a job that also falls vacant in 2012. Mr Medvedev recently suggested that the next head of the court should be chosen by the president. As a top lawyer, he would be in a position to ensure that none of Russia’s recent history was falsified.

普京的这些评价也强化了关于他将在梅德韦杰夫总统任期于2012年届满后重返总统宝座（两次六年任期）的预期。至于梅德韦杰夫，莫斯科的流言圈子称他有可能想成为宪法法院的院长，这一职位也将在2012年空出。梅德韦杰夫近期曾建议下一任法院的院长应该由总统选定。作为一名顶级律师，他将置身于一个确保任何俄国近来的历史都不被篡改的岗位上。

Lilywizardry译文编号020

《经济学人》（The Economist ( http://www.economist.com ))
仅同意本网站翻译其杂志内容，并未对上述翻译内容进行任何审阅查对。

最后要提一下译名时的一段趣事。
本文名为Put in more flags，不敢直译，担心有典故，于是google之。
查到有一本小说叫Put out more flags，且背景与本文有一定呼应，觉得标题可能来源于此；但该书尚未翻成中文，只得查找其英文出处。
不料，作者Evelyn Waugh当初竟是引林语堂《生活的艺术》中一段为其书名；再查The Importance of Living的中译本时，发现有人提出此处可能是当年林的谬误所致（可参见blog——榆下途说）：林误将“醉将离宜击钵，壮其神也”中的“将”理解为将军之意，后又与“醉俊人宜益觥盂加旗帜，助其烈也”前后混搭，造出一句 “a drunk military man should order gallons and put out more flags in order to increase his military splendor. ” 沃氏读此句后心有戚戚，便以中国古语之名冠于其书。
因此到头来，一切大概只是场美丽的误会。

 

Lilywizardry： http://www.ecocn.org/bbs/viewthread.php?tid=19369