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　　Human rights in Russia

　　俄罗斯人权问题

　　Grim to be gay

　　悲惨的同志

　　The plight of gays prompts calls for a boycott of theSochi Olympics

　　同志的困境激起人们对索契冬奥会的抵制

　　SINCE Russia was awarded the 2014 Winter Olympics, it has had to deal with everything fromcost overruns to the historical grievances of the Circassian diaspora and concerns over anIslamic insurgency in the north Caucasus. But an issue that the authorities did not foresee,nor seem yet to understand, now threatens to spoil its ambitions most of all.

　　自从俄罗斯获得2014年冬奥会的举办权，他就不得不处理各种问题，从成本超支到切尔克斯人的历史遗留问题以及对高加索北部伊斯兰教叛乱的担忧。但是，一件俄罗斯当局没有预见、似乎也不能理解的事情现在却成了破坏奥运会举办的主要威胁。

　　Legislation signed by President Vladimir Putin in June outlaws “propaganda of non-traditionalsexual relations” among minors. Such imprecise wording—what exactly constitutes“propaganda”?—means it could be enforced widely or not at all. So far, it has not led to asingle case.

　　六月，总统普金签署法律，宣布对未成年人“宣传非传统的两性关系”是违法的。这种极其不精确的用语—如何确定“宣传”所包含的内容?——意味着执行起来可松可紧。目前为止，这项立法还没有导致任何确切的案例。

　　As with other recent moves, such as the ban on adoptions by Americans and the criminalisationof blasphemy, the motive seems more political than moral. A deputy from the pro-KremlinUnited Russia party speaks of protecting the country against the “destruction of itsfundamental cultural codes”. It is easiest to define those codes by what they are not:Western, liberal, modern. Masha Lipman of the Carnegie Moscow Centre, a think-tank, saysthe Kremlin has sought to “isolate and stigmatise” such people, while creating a myth of a newRussian identity from a hotchpotch of Orthodox piety, traditional values and provincialdistrust of urban elites.

　　正如像禁止美国人收养儿童和对亵渎宗教的刑事化等其他举措一样，这项举动的政治意义大于道德意义。一位亲克林姆林宫的统一俄罗斯党的代表谈到以反抗“破坏基本文化规范”来保卫国家。我们很容易定义哪些是规范所不包含的：比如西方、自由、现代。卡内基莫斯科中心(一个智囊团)的玛莎·利普顿说克林姆林宫试图“孤立并污蔑”那些人，同时创造一个糅合了正统信仰、传统价值观以及守旧的不信任城市精英的观念的新一代俄罗斯人。

　　Gays and lesbians make easy targets. Russia is socially liberal on adultery, abortion anddivorce, but attitudes to homosexuality resemble those in the West of a generation ago.Soviet-era doublethink about sex is compounded by the role of male rape in prison culture, andthe stigma attached to its victims: opushenny, “made low” or debased, for life.

　　同志总是容易成为枪靶。俄罗斯大众对通奸、流产和离婚都很宽容，而对待同性恋的态度却停留在上一代西方人的水平。苏维埃时代，由于监狱中存有男性被强奸的风气以及被害者被烙上污名，使得人们对性有了双重标准。

　　Yet unease and distaste, more than overt hostility, have governed public attitudes. Theexistence of gays and lesbians is tolerated as long as they are not seen to “contaminate” thepublic square, says Tanya Lokshina of Human Rights Watch, though the near-invisibility of gaysand lesbians has let prejudice and misunderstanding fester. A poll by the Levada Centrefound that 80% of respondents do not have a single gay acquaintance. Alexander Smirnov,who was asked to quit his job at the Moscow mayor’s office after he came out in Afisha, an artsand culture magazine, says gays are seen as “alien people”.

　　但是统治公众态度的是不安和厌恶，而不是公开的敌意。人权观察组织的塔尼亚说只要同志不在公共场所乱来公众就能忍耐他们的存在，即使这种让同志近乎隐形的做法还是让偏见和误解加深。列瓦达中心的民调发现80%的被调查者在生活圈中没有同志。亚历山大·斯米尔诺夫因在一本名叫Afisha的文艺杂志上出柜而被迫辞去其在莫斯科市长办公室的工作，他说同志被当成“外星人”看待。

　　Now the new law adds an emotive slur to latent prejudice, by linking homosexuality andpaedophilia. That resonates with a cultural idolisation of childhood purity. More than three-quarters of Russians polled say that they support the ban on gay “propaganda” to minors. Inprinciple, the law appears to prevent any public defence of the rights of gays and lesbians—ineffect, says Polina Andrianova of Coming Out, a campaign group, creating a “socially unequal”caste.

　　如今，新法通过将同性恋和恋童癖联系起来，给这种潜在的偏见加上令人敏感的污点。这种共鸣是源于对童真的偶像式崇拜风气。超过四分之三的被调查者说她们支持禁止在未成年人中宣传同性恋的法律。一个名为“出柜”的宣传团队成员波莉娜说，原则上，立法似乎是为了限制同志在公共场合辩护的权利，而实际上则是制造了一个被不公平对待的群体。

　　Even more worrying, she says, the law has implicitly given a “green light to aggression”. Anasty new trend is the posting of videos online showing gay men tricked into meetings wherethey are humiliated by vigilantes. Police treatment of gay-rights protesters has been harsh.Igor Kochetkov, another campaigner, notices “disillusionment and depression” among Russia’sgays; a poll finds that the number who experienced harassment or pressure doubled in thepast year to 50%.

　　她说，更让人担心的是这项立法暗中给侵犯同志的行为亮了绿灯。现在有一种下流的新趋势，人们把同志骗到集会然后将他们被义务警员羞辱的视频上传到网上。警察对待同志权利反抗者的态度十分严酷。另一名活动推广人伊戈尔表示“幻灭和绝望”笼罩了整个俄罗斯同志圈;民调发现感到烦恼和压力的人相比去年翻了一番，达到50%。

　　Russian officials still seem baffled by the idea that outsiders really care about the issue. Spurredby campaigners calling for a boycott of the Olympics, foreign governments have complained. Anofficial of the International Olympic Committee says it is “not happy”. It tried unsuccessfully towarn the government that the new law presented a potentially “massive issue”, but its callswent unheeded.

　　俄罗斯官员至今似乎对外界真的在关注这个问题而感到困惑。受到抵制冬奥会活动的影响，外国政府也开始抱怨。一名国际奥委会的官员说这不是个愉快的结局。他们试图警告俄罗斯政府新法会产生潜在的“巨大问题”，但这些要求都被俄方忽略。

　　The IOC is now waiting for a written document from a deputy prime minister, Dmitry Kozak,which should give what it calls “cast-iron assurances” that the propaganda law will not affectparticipants or spectators. Other Russian ministers have said repeatedly that the law will be infull force during the Olympics. A compromise for Sochi is likely—but given Mr Putin’s politicalpriorities and society’s attitudes, the outlook for Russian gays is dark.

　　国际奥委会正在等待俄罗斯副总理德米特里·科扎克的书面文件，坚决保证新法绝不会影响参赛者和观众。其他俄罗斯大臣则反复强调新法在奥运会期间完全有效。对于索契来说，采取妥协是有可能的，但鉴于普金的政治选择和社会的态度，俄罗斯同志的前景将是黑暗的

　　重点讲解

　　1.call for 要求;需要

　　例句:They call for more laws to give the disabled thesame rights and chances to succeed as everyoneelse.

　　他们要求更多的法律给残疾人同样的权利和机会成功。

　　2.deal with 处理

　　例句:I'm impressed with her ability as a singer, but doubt if she will be able to deal with thedifficulties of professional musicianship.

　　她的歌唱能力给我留下很好的印象，不过我怀疑她能不能应付职业歌唱家所遇到的种种困难。

　　3.lead to 导致

　　例句:A lack of prudence may lead to financial problems.

　　不够谨慎可能会导致财政上出现问题。

　　4.such as 诸如

　　例句:And they tend to do so more dramatically in a dog-eat-dog sector such as the financialindustry, says staw.

　　斯托教授认为，在像金融业这样弱肉强食的行当，这种现象尤为严重。

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