美国国家公共电台 NPR--Moscow slashes interest rates in a bid to get the economy back on track

Moscow slashes¹ interest rates in a bid to get the economy back on track

Transcript²

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Russian history professor Sergey Radchenko of Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, about whether President Putin is taking control of the economy.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

As Russia makes incremental³ gains in its war on Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to entice⁴ more men to the fight. Meanwhile, Moscow is slashing⁵ interest rates in a bid to stabilize⁶ the country's economy. Is Russia taking temporary measures to portray⁷ strength, or is the Kremlin actually making gains? To answer those questions, we're joined now by Sergey Radchenko, a professor of Russian history at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Welcome to the program, professor.

SERGEY RADCHENKO: Morning.

FADEL: So I want to talk first about these measures that Russia has been taking to blunt the impact of sanctions, including pumping up the value of its currency and, as I mentioned, slashing interest rates. Are these actual fixes? Or are these measures a way to create a sense of normalcy, at least for now?

RADCHENKO: We have to look at the long-term trajectory⁸ here. We have a tendency in the West to go from euphoria to despair back to euphoria. When the Russians invaded Ukraine, there was an expectation that they would be successful within days. When they didn't, and then the West imposed sanctions, there was an expectation that everything would just fall apart. The ruble collapsed¹⁰ for a time and then bounced back. Now, of course, sanctions are taking their toll¹¹ on the Russian economy. There is inflation. There is growing unemployment. Whether or not this actually translates into a reduced popularity for President Putin is another matter altogether. I think, you know, the question here is that we have to be realistic. The Russian propaganda has two narratives¹³ to explain the economic crisis. First is it's part of Western economic warfare¹⁴. It's something the West is doing to us. Therefore, we have to blame them. And the other part of that is that they're saying, well, this is part of a global economic crisis.

FADEL: Right.

RADCHENKO: So yes, we have high inflation. But this is also that they're - something they're experiencing in the West, as well, in the United States, et cetera. And the argument here is that, yes, we're struggling now, but perhaps we can outstruggle the West.

FADEL: So how does this all impact regular Russians? You mentioned that the ruble collapsed for a time, but it's bounced back. So what does it mean for regular Russians right now? Are they at cafes? Are they able to get things?

RADCHENKO: Well, again, we have to have a, you know, comparative perspective on this.

FADEL: Right.

RADCHENKO: Obviously, the situation is dire¹⁵, perhaps will turn worse. We have - you know, a thousand Western companies have exited the country, leading to unemployment and growing unemployment. Technologies are being denied to Russia. This will have impact down the road. But we're not seeing the 1990s in Russia yet. We're not seeing sort of massive impoverishment¹⁶. We're not seeing, you know, collapse⁹ in savings¹⁷ and so on and so forth¹⁸. And what's also interesting - and this is where this whole discussion of how the Russians will react and whether, you know, the Russians will rise up and overthrow¹⁹ Putin's regime becomes interesting - is if you compare it to the 1980s, there was a sense of crisis, ideological²⁰ crisis in Russia. You know, communism was basically - had, you know, delegitimized itself in the Soviet²¹ Union. And so there was a sense that something had to change. I think there's some of that today. But it's also important to know that Putin's legitimation²² narrative¹² is Russian nationalism. It's very toxic²³ Russian nationalism. It's potent²⁴. And I think it's still alive and kicking in Russia.

FADEL: OK. Let's talk about the war in Ukraine now. This week, the Russian Parliament approved raising the age limit for military personnel to 65. What does this tell us about the war?

RADCHENKO: So general mobilization, which is what, you know, Russia would really need to make this into a very, very big war in their part, is something that would be extremely unpopular with the Russians. So therefore, they've been trying to do secret mobilization or essentially²⁵ go in with contracts instead of conscripting people. And this is what they're still trying to do. Putin is trying to avoid a situation where he has to declare general mobilization.

FADEL: Sergey Radchenko, a professor of Russian history at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Thank you so much.

RADCHENKO: Thank you.

1 slashes   

n.（用刀等）砍( slash的名词复数 )；（长而窄的）伤口；斜杠；撒尿v.挥砍( slash的第三人称单数 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• They report substantial slashes in this year's defense outlays. 他们报道今年度国防经费的大量削减。 来自辞典例句
• Inmates suffered injuries ranging from stab wounds and slashes to head trauma. 囚犯们有的被刺伤，有的被砍伤，而有的头部首创，伤势不一而足。 来自互联网

2 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。

3 incremental   

adj.增加的

参考例句：

• For logic devices, the incremental current gain is very important. 对于逻辑器件来说，提高电流增益是非常重要的。 来自辞典例句
• By using an incremental approach, the problems involving material or geometric nonlinearity have been solved. 借应用一种增量方法，已经解决了包括材料的或几何的非线性问题。 来自辞典例句

4 entice   

v.诱骗，引诱，怂恿

参考例句：

• Nothing will entice the children from television.没有任何东西能把孩子们从电视机前诱开。
• I don't see why the English should want to entice us away from our native land.我不明白，为什英国人要引诱我们离开自己的国土。

5 slashing   

adj.尖锐的；苛刻的；鲜明的；乱砍的v.挥砍( slash的现在分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Slashing is the first process in which liquid treatment is involved. 浆纱是液处理的第一过程。 来自辞典例句
• He stopped slashing his horse. 他住了手，不去鞭打他的马了。 来自辞典例句

6 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

7 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

8 trajectory   

n.弹道，轨道

参考例句：

• It is not difficult to sketch the subsequent trajectory.很容易描绘出它们最终的轨迹。
• The path followed by a projectile is called its trajectory.抛物体所循的路径称为它的轨道。

9 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

10 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

11 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

12 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。

13 narratives   

记叙文( narrative的名词复数 )； 故事； 叙述； 叙述部分

参考例句：

• Marriage, which has been the bourne of so many narratives, is still a great beginning. 结婚一向是许多小说的终点，然而也是一个伟大的开始。
• This is one of the narratives that children are fond of. 这是孩子们喜欢的故事之一。

14 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

15 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

16 impoverishment   

n.贫穷，穷困；贫化

参考例句：

• Therefore, the spiritual impoverishment is a more fearful social phenomenon. 所以，精神贫困是一种比物质贫困更隐蔽更可怕的社会现象。 来自互联网
• Impoverishment is compounded by many elements, and can transmit to be a pernicious cycle. 贫困是由多种因素复合而成的，并且具有传递性，形成贫困的恶性循环。 来自互联网

17 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

18 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

19 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

20 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

21 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

22 legitimation   

n. 合法, 合法化

参考例句：

• Therefore, the legitimation of these regulations becomes an arguable issue. 因此这些管制的合法化就变成了争论的议题。
• His parents' subsequent marriage resulted in his legitimation. 他父母随后的结婚令他的身份得以合法化。

23 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

24 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

25 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。