每日跟讀#691: About Russia - Russia hatches plan to become top tourist draw
With ambitious plans to become one of the world’s top 10 travel destinations, Russia is offering tours off the beaten track to attract more visitors, with the goal of doubling tourism revenues to $25 billion by 2035.
在立下成為全球前十大旅遊勝地的宏大願景後，俄羅斯計畫推出罕見的行程，以招徠更多觀光客，目標是觀光收入到2035年翻倍至250億美元（逾7930億台幣）。
Nearly 25 million tourists visited Russia last year, making it the world’s 16th most popular destination, according to the World Tourism Organization.
聯合國「世界旅遊組織」統計，去年有近2500萬旅客造訪俄國，使其位居全球第16大最受歡迎觀光地。
But the difficulty of obtaining visas, a lack of contemporary-style accommodation and transport links outside the main cities still put off many visitors.
然而，簽證不易取得、現代化住宿設施不足，以及主要城市以外欠缺交通網絡等問題，都讓許多旅客卻步。
Now the government has started to introduce electronic visas, which will come into force in October for stays of up to eight days in Saint Petersburg, though Russia has not yet said which countries’ citizens can apply.
現在，俄國政府已開始引進電子簽證，10月起生效，有意在聖彼得堡停留最多8天的旅客可提出申請，惟當局尚未公布放行的國家有哪些。
In addition to ski and trek, tour operators are seeking to launch Arctic tours featuring reindeer herders, rides in Soviet-era tanks or a night at a palace that belonged to Peter the Great.
除了滑雪和縱走，旅行社業者正嘗試開辦以馴鹿放牧、乘坐蘇聯時代坦克或投宿彼得大帝皇宮為特色的北極之旅。
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Article: Russians turn to sex coaches to overcome Soviet-era taboos 俄羅斯人求助性愛教練，以克服蘇聯時代禁忌
Surrounded by erotic toys, half a dozen women of all ages sit in a central Moscow basement facing a whiteboard as a sex coach trains them in speaking openly about their sexual desires.
數名橫跨各年齡層的女性，坐在莫斯科市中心一處地下室的白板前，身邊環繞著性愛玩具，讓性愛教練訓練她們公開談論自身性愛渴望。
Barely spoken about publicly in Soviet times and with the Kremlin pushing conservative values in recent years, sex, as a subject, remains an unmentionable in Russia.
蘇聯時代幾乎不會公開討論性愛話題，加上克里姆林宮近年推廣傳統價值，使性愛在俄國仍是難以啟齒的話題。
Viktoria Ekaterina Frank, a psychologist and sexologist, said that her course did not aim to teach sex techniques but rather "help women understand the psychological barriers engrained in themselves."
心理學家兼性學家維多利亞．艾卡特蓮娜．富蘭克說，她的課程不是要教導性愛技巧，而是「幫助女性了解自身根深蒂固的心理障礙。」
According to sociologists, Soviet authorities promoted the idea that "the sexual act should serve only for reproduction," and the kind of aura of taboo remains until now.
社會學家說，蘇聯政府宣揚「性行為僅是為了傳宗接代」的觀念，而這種禁忌氛圍持續到現在。
Now, with authorities increasing their control over the media and internet, often blocking content linked to the opposition, Russians found freedom of expression in talking about sex.
如今，隨著政府加強控制媒體和網路，經常封鎖與反對派有關的內容，俄國人反而透過談論性愛找到言論自由。
Source article: https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1310769 ; https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1309161