Followers of an imprisoned Russian opposition leader speak out about the war

Followers¹ of an imprisoned² Russian opposition³ leader speak out about the war

　　Transcript⁴

　　NPR's A Martinez talks to Vladimir Ashurkov, who's with an organization founded by Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, about Russia's efforts to crush press freedoms and civil liberties.

　　A MARTINEZ, HOST:

　　The last major independent news outlet⁵ operating in Russia has suspended operations. The editor, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize last year, said the newspaper was warned it was breaking a newly imposed ban on what the Kremlin calls fake news about the war on Ukraine. To talk about the recent crackdown by the Kremlin and Russian President Vladimir Putin, I called Vladimir Ashurkov. Ashurkov is executive director of the Anti-Corruption⁶ Foundation. That's the organization founded by Putin's main political rival, Alexei Navalny. Just last week, Navalny was sentenced to nine years on fraud charges that were widely seen as baseless. And I started my conversation by asking Ashurkov about Navalny's safety.

　　VLADIMIR ASHURKOV: Russian security services can conduct assassinations⁷ in any part of the world. You know, it's not for nothing that Russian authorities decided⁸ to poison Navalny in August of 2020. So of course I'm worried about his health, and I am worried about any foul⁹ play that can happen. But Navalny's story is one of miracles. I think he has it in him that he will defy any odds¹⁰ against him in this case just as well.

　　MARTINEZ: What's become of the hopes of Navalny's supporters and Russia's opposition movement in general now?

　　ASHURKOV: Well, I think last month has changed many things. Few people expected a full-blown invasion that would be seeing people killed in their hundreds, if not thousands, every day. It was just unimaginable. At the same time, we see, by the way the war has been conducted by Russia, that it is really a blunder and miscalculation. I believe it's weakening Putin's regime and brings forward its demise¹¹. People in the elite¹² are shocked because they see their lifestyles turned upside down. They have seen their fortunes decimated. And the average Russians - they see how the prices are skyrocketing, how foreign brands are leaving Russia, and there will be a definite spike¹³ in unemployment. So once the economic costs of this invasion sink in, the human costs, I think, inevitably¹⁴, this will result in a political crisis.

　　MARTINEZ: The economic sanctions that have been imposed by the U.S. and their allies - are - is that alone enough to put pressure on Vladimir Putin?

　　ASHURKOV: I wish there was some silver bullet that Western countries would employ to put an end to Putin's regime and to this war. But unfortunately, barring a full-scale war and military engagement with Russia, there is no such silver bullet. So economic sanctions are a way to inflict¹⁵ pressure, to inflict economic pain, on different strata¹⁶ of Russian society - different industries, on businesspeople - so that they have sort of a motivation to change the situation. But it's not a magic wand that would make Putin stop, you know, within days or weeks.

　　MARTINEZ: And what could the international community do? What role could they play in helping¹⁷ Russia to return to democratic principles and also civil liberties?

　　ASHURKOV: I wish I had a good answer to that. I think, ultimately, it's a matter for Russians to change this and to put our country on the normal path of development. It will be a difficult road. It has been made much more difficult by this senseless war that started a bit - over a month ago. But I think whatever we see now in Russia, it's just not sustainable. It may seem stable, but it's really fragile. And the corruption is affecting all aspects of society, economy, the military.

　　MARTINEZ: President Biden, over the weekend in Warsaw, said something in a speech.

　　(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

　　PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power.

　　MARTINEZ: For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power - talking about Vladimir Putin. Could this, in fact, maybe benefited Putin, strengthening his narrative¹⁸ as a Russian leader trying to fend¹⁹ off Western interference?

　　ASHURKOV: Leaders and politicians in the West - they cannot be as sly, lying as people in countries like Russia, in authoritarian²⁰ and totalitarian regimes. So it's naturally that Biden would speak or would try to speak something that he believes in in terms of Russia. Now, Biden - his office may have retracted²¹ this statement a little bit, but I think we need to look through the nuances of rhetoric²² to the true situation and true strategy that may work.

　　MARTINEZ: That's Vladimir Ashurkov, executive director of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, an organization founded by Alexei Navalny. Vladimir, thank you so much for speaking with us.

　　ASHURKOV: Thank you.

1 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

2 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

5 outlet   

n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄

参考例句：

• The outlet of a water pipe was blocked.水管的出水口堵住了。
• Running is a good outlet for his energy.跑步是他发泄过剩精力的好方法。

6 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

7 assassinations   

n.暗杀( assassination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Most anarchist assassinations were bungled because of haste or spontaneity, in his view. 在他看来，无政府主义者搞的许多刺杀都没成功就是因为匆忙和自发行动。 来自辞典例句
• Assassinations by Israelis of alleged terrorists habitually kill nearby women and children. 在以色列，自称恐怖分子的炸弹自杀者杀害靠近自己的以色列妇女和儿童。 来自互联网

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 foul   

adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规

参考例句：

• Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
• What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！

10 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

11 demise   

n.死亡；v.让渡，遗赠，转让

参考例句：

• He praised the union's aims but predicted its early demise.他赞扬协会的目标，但预期这一协会很快会消亡。
• The war brought about the industry's sudden demise.战争道致这个行业就这么突然垮了。

12 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

13 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

14 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

15 inflict   

vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担

参考例句：

• Don't inflict your ideas on me.不要把你的想法强加于我。
• Don't inflict damage on any person.不要伤害任何人。

16 strata   

n.地层（复数）；社会阶层

参考例句：

• The older strata gradually disintegrate.较老的岩层渐渐风化。
• They represent all social strata.他们代表各个社会阶层。

17 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

18 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

19 fend   

v.照料（自己），（自己）谋生，挡开，避开

参考例句：

• I've had to fend for myself since I was 14.我从十四岁时起就不得不照料自己。
• He raised his arm up to fend branches from his eyes.他举手将树枝从他眼前挡开。

20 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

21 retracted   

v.撤回或撤消( retract的过去式和过去分词 )；拒绝执行或遵守；缩回；拉回

参考例句：

• He made a false confession which he later retracted. 他作了假供词，后来又翻供。
• A caddy retracted his statement. 一个球童收回了他的话。 来自辞典例句

22 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。