索契冬奧會前前後後展示普京雄心

Conjuring up the ghosts of Tolstoy, Tchaikovsky and Peter the Great, Vladimir Putin put on a show last night to rival London and Beijing, with a simple message: Russia is back and as hungry as ever.

在昨晚這場可與倫敦奧運會和北京奧運會匹敵的演出上，托爾斯泰(Tolstoy)、柴可夫斯基(Tchaikovsky)、彼得大帝(Peter the Great) 之魂接連出場，弗拉基米爾·普京(Vladimir Putin)藉此傳遞一個簡單的信息：俄羅斯回來了，像昔日那樣雄心勃勃。

In a feat reflective of the $51bn epic Sochi experiment itself, a giant troika of horses floated through the freezing air, the workers’ revolution was reimagined as a Malevich-inspired musical and an inflatable St Basil’s coalesced on the stage. Volcanoes spewed fire, fireworks lit up the stadium and soft flurries of snow fell on command from the sky. Mr Putin bowed and waved.

開幕式壯麗地史詩表演折射出索契冬奧會510億美元的投入。三匹巨馬飄過冰冷的空氣，從馬列維奇(Malevich)得到靈感、以工人革命爲主題的音樂劇表演，以及舞臺上出現的充氣聖巴西爾大教堂。一個個小火山引燃了火炬臺，煙花照亮整座體育場，安排好的細雪從天而降。普金向人們鞠躬並揮手示意。

If many have doubted Mr Putin’s decision to host the Winter Olympics in a tiny beachfront town that had little pre-existing modern day infrastructure, the president’s opening ceremony could be seen as a strong rebuke. Homage was made to Peter the Great and Russia’s Imperial capital St Petersburg – built against all architectural logic on a marshland – and the Stalinist skyscrapers of Soviet Moscow that remain standing to this day, as viewers were taken on the tumultuous ride that is Russia’s history.

當普金決定在一個缺乏現代基礎設施的海濱小鎮舉辦冬奧會時，也許有人曾有過懷疑，而這場開幕式可被視作總統的反駁。開幕式的表演展現了彼得大帝，俄羅斯帝都聖彼得堡（在沼澤地上克服建築技術侷限而興建的城市），以及今天依然佇立在莫斯科的斯大林式的高樓，讓觀衆們走馬觀花地一覽俄羅斯歷史。

The Sochi games have been among the more controversial in Olympic history, with western critics using them as a springboard to criticise Russia in particular on its human rights record.

索契冬奧會是奧運會歷史上一次備受爭議的比賽，西方的批評家們以它爲跳板來批評俄羅斯，尤其指責其人權記錄。

In perhaps a cheeky nod to critics of the country’s new “gay propaganda” ban, the ceremony featured music from tATu, a Russian pop duo who posed as faux lesbians during their peak in their early 2000s. Their song – “Not Going To Get Us” – played as Russia’s Olympic competitors made their entrance during the traditional Parade of Nations.

該國新出臺的“禁同性戀宣傳”法律招致了大量批評，或許是爲了調侃這些批評，開幕式選用了tATu的音樂。tATu是一支俄羅斯流行音樂二人組，在21世紀初的巔峯時代曾假裝女同性戀。當俄羅斯冬奧會的選手們踏入會場，進行傳統的運動員遊行儀式時，tATu的歌曲“別想阻攔我們”(Not Going To Get Us)響徹會場。

The opening ceremony may help Russia reclaim the Sochi narrative from critics who have highlighted the event’s shortcomings. In recent days, arriving journalists complained of yellow tap water, unfinished hotel rooms and shoddy construction work – evidence of a rushed job.

開幕式或許有助於俄羅斯從批評者那裏奪回索契冬奧會的話語權，近日這些批評者抓住此次奧運會的缺陷大做文章。近日來，抵達索契的記者們紛紛抱怨自來水泛黃，酒店客房沒完工，以及粗製濫造的施工——這都是趕工的證明。

The show was not without hitches. One of the five Olympic rings, in the form of giant snowflakes, initially failed to open properly.

開幕式並非一帆風順。在巨大的雪花狀奧運五連環中，有一環最初沒能正確打開。

While the leaders in Mr Putin’s Olympic box included China’s leader Xi Jinping and Viktor Yanukovich, the embattled leader of Ukraine, major western leaders, including US president Barack Obama and German chancellor Angela Merkel, skipped the party, sending junior delegations instead.

普京的冬奧會包廂裏坐着中國國家主席習近平和陷入困境的烏克蘭總統維克多•亞努科維奇(Viktor Yanukovych)，但美國總統巴拉克•奧巴馬(Barack Obama)和德國總理安格拉•默克爾(Angela Merkel)等主要西方國家領導人沒有出席開幕式，而只是派出了低層官員組成的代表團。

Offsetting the lack of western luminaries, Mr Putin had gathered Russia’s rich and famous from the Bolshoi and Mariinsky theatres, Moscow film sets – and some from abroad. Svetlana Zakharova, the nation’s prima ballerina, danced, while Anna Netbrenko, Russia’s world-famous soprano, sang the Olympic anthem. Maria Sharapova, the tennis star, came from her residence in Florida and oligarch Roman Abramovich from the UK.

爲了彌補西方要人的缺席，普京從莫斯科大劇院和馬林斯基劇院、莫斯科電影界召集了俄羅斯的許多富人和名人，也有一些從國外應邀趕來。芭蕾舞首席女舞者斯維特拉娜•扎哈洛娃(Svetlana Zakharova)翩翩起舞，世界聞名的俄羅斯女高音安娜•奈瑞貝科(Anna Netrebko)演唱冬奧會會歌。網球明星瑪麗亞•莎拉波娃(Maria Sharapova)從她在美國佛羅里達州的住所前來助陣，寡頭羅曼•阿布拉莫維奇(Roman Abramovich)從英國趕來出席開幕式。

At the end of the three-hour ceremony, Russia put on a beautifully terrifying firework display set to the music of Tchaikovsky. As Mr Putin seemed to have proved, there are things Russia still does stupendously well: pyrotechnics most certainly included.

長達3小時的開幕式結束時，俄羅斯方面在柴可夫斯基音樂的伴奏下進行了美麗壯觀的煙花表演。正如普京似乎已證明的那樣，俄羅斯仍有許多事情能做得非常漂亮：煙火表演肯定包括在內。