VOA标准英语2010年-Russian Protesters Don Their Own 'Blue

Hundreds of Muscovites have been strapping¹ blue buckets to the roofs of their cars to mock the flashing blue lights that allow senior bureaucrats² to drive into oncoming traffic and break the rules that everyone else has to obey

Russian lawmakers are considering a bill that would make it harder to organize a rally using vehicles in Moscow. The news comes after a growing number of rallies against special privileges for official cars and a wave of public anger at officials, some of whom often ignore driving rules.

In recent weeks, hundreds of Muscovites have been strapping blue buckets to the roofs of their cars to mock the flashing blue lights that allow senior bureaucrats to drive into oncoming traffic and break the rules that everyone else has to obey.

Sergei Kanayev is the head of the all-Russia Federation³ of car owners, and one of the leaders of the protests.

 "It all started in 2000 in Kemerovo region, when my friend and his 8-year-old daughter died in a car crash," he explained.  "The policeman who ran into them was not only drunk, but had gone through a red light and had no siren on.  I was driving right behind them and saw the whole thing. That was when we decided⁴ to seek justice."

In Moscow, the campaign has been fueled partly by an incident in February, when the Mercedes of the vice⁵ president of the oil company LUKoil, carrying a blue light, collided with a Citroen. Two women were killed in the Citroen, one of whom was a well-known gynecologist.  Authorities initially⁶ blamed the women, but witnesses and the family said the LUKoil car was to blame.

Following that accident, a Moscow businessman, Andrei Hartley, refused to move for a black BMW carrying an aide to President Dmitri Medvedev.  He posted a video on the Internet that showed him approaching the BMW and the aide's arrogant⁷ reaction.

Masha Lipman is an analyst⁸ with Moscow's Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

"There's some change in the mood," said Lipman.  "I wouldn't say this is radical⁹.  Actually, automobile¹⁰ drivers have been a rather cohesive¹¹ force in Russia, and this is not the first time this is happening.  Previously¹², however, they tended to protest against what they saw as an infringement¹³ on their socio-economic rights.  This time round, this is a direct challenge to what they see as unfairness, as injustice¹⁴ and inequality."

The Russian lower house of parliament is now considering legislation that would require protesters using automobiles¹⁵ to inform the authorities about their planned actions three working days in advance. Under the current regulations, protests using cars don't count as "public gatherings¹⁶" and their participants can only be detained for traffic violations¹⁷.

"The Kremlin are very aware of the risk that this might theoretically evolve as something bigger so they try to pre-empt, try to prevent, such kind of undesired evolution before it begins to happen," added Lipman.

The Blue Buckets Society has reacted to the lawmakers' initiative by organizing a march around the city, with blue pails and plastic cups attached to their heads.  Moscow police detained several protesters, but they are not the ones who should be arrested, says car owners federation head Sergei Kanayev.

"These people with blue lights are above the law," added Kanayev.  "They are not ready to follow it.  And people who write laws are also above the law.  We have to make everyone respect it, and this rally against the blue lights is exactly about that."

Most federal lawmakers lost their right to a blue light in 2006 after an outburst of public anger at their privileges.  Now, theoretically, only the speakers and deputy speakers of the two houses of parliament may use the lights officially, but there are still dozens of cars on the Moscow roads that continue to exploit the advantages of a blue light on the roof.
 

1 strapping   

adj. 魁伟的, 身材高大健壮的 n. 皮绳或皮带的材料, 裹伤胶带, 皮鞭 动词strap的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• He's a strapping lad—already bigger than his father. 他是一个魁梧的小伙子——已经比他父亲高了。
• He was a tall strapping boy. 他是一个高大健壮的小伙子。

2 bureaucrats   

n.官僚( bureaucrat的名词复数 )；官僚主义；官僚主义者；官僚语言

参考例句：

• That is the fate of the bureaucrats, not the inspiration of statesmen. 那是官僚主义者的命运，而不是政治家的灵感。 来自辞典例句
• Big business and dozens of anonymous bureaucrats have as much power as Japan's top elected leaders. 大企业和许多不知名的官僚同日本选举出来的最高层领导者们的权力一样大。 来自辞典例句

3 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

4 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。

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

6 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

7 arrogant   

adj.傲慢的，自大的

参考例句：

• You've got to get rid of your arrogant ways.你这骄傲劲儿得好好改改。
• People are waking up that he is arrogant.人们开始认识到他很傲慢。

8 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

9 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

10 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

11 cohesive   

adj.有粘着力的；有结合力的；凝聚性的

参考例句：

• She sealed the parcel with cohesive tape.她用粘胶带把包裹封起来。
• The author skillfully fuses these fragments into a cohesive whole.作者将这些片断巧妙地结合成一个连贯的整体。

12 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

13 infringement   

n.违反；侵权

参考例句：

• Infringement of this regulation would automatically rule you out of the championship.违背这一规则会被自动取消参加锦标赛的资格。
• The committee ruled that the US ban constituted an infringement of free trade.委员会裁定美国的禁令对自由贸易构成了侵犯

14 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

15 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

17 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。