CNN 2011-12-28（打印版）

As this flag was lowered,it marked an end of an empire that had seemed invincible.20 years ago,small crowd watched from the Red Square as flag of Soviet Union was removed from the Kremlin and replaced with Russia's own color.On that cold night, these people shared their feelings of nervous optimism with CNN.I hope we will be given freedom. this man says.

I want to hope it's all going to be abandoned.says this woman.But will it be?that's a question.

I hereby to continue my activities as the post-president of USSR.Inside the Kremlin,M. spoke about the free society he thought he was leaving behind as he announced his resignation:

A big breakthrough had affected the democratic change,free election had become a reality,free press, freedom worship,representative legislatures multi-party system had all become reality.

But two decades later,that same list of political freedom has been fought for again.

So what went wrong,that is a question haunted B.,he remembers rallying for greater political rights to the 1990 by the time the USSR broke up,he thought the fight had been won.

Backed then,we couldn't imaging this lawlessness and corruption come to power,he says.

People agreed when G. declares the democracy to be the new standard,he was right,they said it largely stayed that way through 90s.But then, something changed.

In Russian, over the past years,we had problems about public expression,we had problem about breath freedom,we had problems with the political rights and freedom of resembling.

I think how we society traded our liberties for prospers life,for comfort, for better quality of life,it was a mistake.

The Russian people thought it was a mistake and most put up with it until just few months ago.

Two events are credited with sparking this renewed civil rage.

First,prime minister Vladimir Putin announced his intension to swap out /// and return to the presidency next year.

Then came to widespread allegations of cheating by Putin's own party in resent parliamentary elections.

Once people realized that the authorities were not even pretending that they mattered, that their opinion mattered, they actually woke up and they became ready to come to the streets and protest.

The strength of this reaction surprises even those who are a part of it.They believe it surprises the country's leader too.That makes them more hopeful for their future that they weren't just few month ago.

I can not express how happy I am.B. says.I'm so happy what's happening now.

The last Soviet Union president may have been premature in declaring the society free and democratic,because of recent events in this country,the feeling of many people here that achieving that goal is closest than it ever had been before.

CNN 2011-12-28（在线收听）