中国网站品牌栏目（频道）
 |
|
Activists say one belongs to the president—and that it was built with illicit state funds. |
|
Extravagant mansions are popping up along Russia’s Black Sea coast. Activists say one belongs to the president—and that it was built with illicit state funds. On a recent morning, in the village of Praskoveyevka, located on the northern coast of Russia's Black Sea, a group of activists—some in bathing suits, others in the nude—went for a swim at a public beach. Their goal: to get a closer look at an extravagant mansion, set in the middle of a nearby forest. The house, with its black, iron gate and Soviet era façade, looked surreal, as if someone had transported it from Moscow and dropped it in the middle of nowhere. For months, the activists have been camping in the woods near the mansion, sneaking past the guards and the "No Trespassing" signs to photograph the massive home. Last week, they posted photos online of its lush courtyard and Tsar-like bedroom on their popular blog. Set in 74 hectares of prime land near the Black Sea coast with its own vineyard, the palace has its own helipad. Other features include an indoor cinema, a summer amphitheatre, a casino, swimming pools, a gym and a clock tower. Sergei Kolesnikov, the businessman who claims the palace is Mr Putin's, has likened the structure to a palace built for Russia's Tsars outside St Petersburg. He said that the Russian prime minister had personally approved the design and materials. Mr Kolesnikov has called on Medvedev to investigate his controversial claim. "A palace is being built on the Black Sea coast for the personal use of the Russian prime minister," Mr Kolesnikov wrote in his original letter. "As things stand, the cost of the palace is $1 billion. The funds were mostly raised through a combination of corruption, bribery and theft," he said. Mr Putin's spokesman has dismissed the allegation out of hand however, as has Mr Kozhin, the Kremlin official whose signature allegedly appeared on the original contract. But Mr Kolesnikov, who said he was involved in the project himself until 2009 when he was removed for raising concerns about corruption, is sticking to his story and pictures of the lavish residence have appeared on a Russian whistle-blowing web site. (Read by CJ Henderson. CJ Henderson is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
俄罗斯黑海海岸涌现出诸多豪华别墅。一些活动人士称，其中一座别墅属于现任总统普京所有，而且是违法使用国家资金建造的。 最近的一个早晨，在俄罗斯黑海北部海岸的村落Praskoveyevka，一群活动人士在公共海滩游泳，他们或身穿泳衣，或者干脆裸泳。他们的目标就是要近距离观看这座附近森林里的豪华别墅。别墅有着一扇黑色的铁门，外观有苏联时期建筑的风格，看起来颇为超现实主义，就如同有人把它从莫斯科搬来丢在了偏僻之处。 这些活动人士已经在别墅周围的丛林里露营了几个月，他们躲过巡查的保安，绕过“不准擅自闯入”的标牌，拍摄这座巨大的豪华别墅。上周，他们把繁茂庭院的照片上传到网上，还把类似沙皇时期的卧室照片上传到博客上。 别墅占地74公顷，座落在黑海海岸的黄金地段，有独立的葡萄园，也有直升机起降场。其他设施还包括室内电影院、夏季圆形剧场、俱乐部、游泳池、健身房和钟塔。 声称别墅属于普京所有的商人谢尔盖•克列斯尼科夫将这座别墅比作为沙皇在圣彼得堡外修建的奢华住宅。他说时任俄罗斯总理的普京曾亲自批准了别墅的设计和材料。 克列斯尼科夫曾呼吁当时的总统梅德韦杰夫调查此事。他在最初的致信中说：“黑海海岸正在修建一座别墅，供（时任）普京总理个人使用。” 他说：“照目前来看，别墅造价高达10亿美元。这些资金是通过腐败、受贿和偷盗而来的。” 但普京的发言人和克里姆林宫官员科任都立即反驳了这一指控。科任的签名曾出现在别墅的原始合同上。 但克列斯尼科夫坚称自己所说的全部属实，这座豪华别墅的照片也被上传到了俄罗斯的一个揭秘网站上。克列斯尼科夫称自己一直参与别墅的建造项目，直到2009年因指出别墅可能涉及腐败问题而被迫离开项目组。 相关阅读 （中国日报网英语点津 Julie 编辑：陈丹妮） |
|
Vocabulary: façade: 外观，（法）建筑物正面 surreal: 超现实主义的，离奇的，不真实的 in the middle of nowhere: 偏僻的地方 helipad: 直升机起降场 amphitheatre: 圆形剧场，阶梯教室 as things stand: 按照现状来看，在目前的情况下 out of hand: 立即 whistle-blowing: 告密，揭发内幕 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
