克里姆林宮稱俄羅斯不會關閉沙皇彼得的 “向歐洲之窗”

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following

Russia won't close Tsar Peter's 'window to Europe', Kremlin says

Thu, June 2, 2022, 3:52 AM

LONDON (Reuters) -The Kremlin said on Thursday that Russia did not plan to close "the window" to Europe which Tsar Peter the Great sought to open 300 years ago even though the West has imposed the most onerous sanctions in recent history over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Russia's Feb. 24 invasion has killed thousands, displaced 13 million and raised fears of a broader conflict between the United States and Russia, by far the world's biggest nuclear powers.

President Vladimir Putin says the West wants to destroy Russia, that the economic sanctions are akin to a declaration of economic war and that now Russia will turn towards building ties with other powers in Asia and Middle East.

Asked if Russia would now turn the clock back on Peter I's efforts to open Russia up to Europe, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "No one is planning to close anything."

Peter, who ruled from 1682 to 1725, oversaw Russia's transformation into a major European power and founded the city of Saint Petersburg, dubbed Russia's "window to Europe". He founded the Russian Empire in 1721.

Putin is a "deep connoisseur of history" and is well aware of Peter's legacy, Peskov said.

"If we are talking specifically about Peter the Great, Putin very much appreciates the role of this particular individual in the history of our country", he said.

Peter sought to import Western technology and battled against traditions which he felt were hindering the development of Russian power, though many of his reforms strengthened Russian autocracy.

Putin says the "special military operation" in Ukraine is necessary to demilitarise and "denazify" the country, and because the United States was using Ukraine to threaten Russia through NATO enlargement and Moscow had to defend against the persecution of Russian-speaking people.

Ukraine and its Western allies reject these as baseless pretexts to invade a sovereign country.

(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)

Translation

倫敦（路透社）- 克里姆林宮週四表示，儘管西方對俄羅斯入侵烏克蘭實施了近代史上最嚴厲的製裁，但俄羅斯並不打算關閉 300 年前沙皇彼得大帝試圖打開通往歐洲的“窗口”。

俄羅斯 2 月 24 日的入侵已造成數千人死亡，1,300 萬人流離失所，並引發了人們對美國和俄羅斯之間更廣泛衝突的擔憂，美國和俄羅斯是迄今為止世界上最大的核大國。

總統普京表示，西方想要摧毀俄羅斯，經濟制裁類似於宣戰，現在俄羅斯將轉向與亞洲和中東其他大國建立聯繫。

當被問及俄羅斯現在是否會倒轉彼得一世向歐洲開放俄羅斯的努力時，克里姆林宮發言人佩斯科夫說: “沒有人打算關閉任何東西。”

彼得大帝從 1682 年到 1725 年在位，他督導俄羅斯轉變為歐洲大國，並建立了聖彼得堡市，被稱為俄羅斯的 “歐洲之窗”。 1721年，他建立了俄羅斯帝國。

佩斯科夫說，普京是一位 “深厚的歷史專家”，並且非常了解彼得的遺產。

他說: “如果我們專門談論彼得大帝，普京非常欣賞這個特殊人物在我國歷史上的角色。”

彼得試圖引進西方技術並與傳統對抗, 他認為傳統阻礙俄羅斯的國力發展，儘管他的許多改革加強了俄羅斯的專制。

普京表示，在烏克蘭的“特別軍事行動” 去使到該國非軍事化和“去納粹化”是必要的，因為美國正在利用烏克蘭通過北約擴大威脅俄羅斯，而莫斯科必須抵禦對講俄語的人的迫害。

烏克蘭及其西方盟友擯斥這些作為侵略主權國家的毫無根據的藉口。

So, President Putin says the West wants to destroy Russia, that the economic sanctions are akin to a declaration of economic war and that now Russia will turn towards building ties with other powers in Asia and Middle East. Let’s see how Putin will carry out this change in foreign policy as I think Russian needs to depend on EU in many respects.