VOA标准英语2014--Russian Opposition Leader Detained for Trying to Join Protest

 

Russian Opposition¹ Leader Detained for Trying to Join Protest

MOSCOW—

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been detained after trying to join his supporters in central Moscow Tuesday protesting his sentencing on fraud charges earlier in the day.

The court gave the lawyer and blogger a suspended sentence for embezzlement² but ordered his brother Oleg Navalny, who also was on trial, to serve three-and-a-half years in prison.

Political analysts⁴ said the court's action demonstrates the Kremlin's fear of leaders who can mobilize public opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Hundreds of Alexei Navalny's supporters protested near the Kremlin Tuesday night, demanding that the opposition leader and his brother Oleg be set free.

Police, out in full force, detained Alexei Navalny as he tried to join the rally, in violation⁵ of his house arrest.

Call for protests

Earlier in the day, Alexei Navalny called for sustained street protests after he and his brother were sentenced.

"This power does not deserve to exist, it should be destroyed. I am calling today on everybody to take to the streets, I'm calling to take to the streets until the power which tortures innocent people is removed," Alexei Navalny said.

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke called the guilty verdict "disturbing." 

“The decision is a disturbing development in our view, and it appears to be designed to further punish and deter⁶ political activism. This appears to be another example of the Russian government's growing crackdown on independent voices,” Rathke said.

Jeff Mankoff, a Russia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said the targeting of high-profile activists⁷ sends a message to the Russian public that they, too, are vulnerable and the law will not protect them.

“So even though you haven’t had the widespread visible opposition you had, say, in late 2011, and even though Putin’s approval ratings are around 80 percent, I think the careful handling of this case indicates the fact that the political leadership is still worried that somewhere below the surface that opposition sentiment continues to bubble,” Mankoff said.

A surge in nationalism this year following Russia's annexation⁸ of Crimea distracted the public's attention from the corruption⁹ issues championed by Alexei Navalny. He led protests in 2011 and 2012 against Putin that were the largest shows of public opposition since the Russian leader came to power.

The court’s decision to jail Navalny's brother, Oleg, but not him is a sign that the Kremlin fears making the opposition leader into a martyr¹⁰, said Russian political analyst³ Nikolai Petrov.

"They are very afraid of making Navalny a hero who is staying behind bars and who can serve as informal leader for all opposition movements, for protests and so on," Petrov said.

"And, I think that when making this final decision about a pretty soft sentence, the Kremlin took into consideration, well, a worsening economic situation and the possibility of large-scale social protest and, well, this movement in social networks," he added.

Court date moved

Over 33,000 Navalny supporters signed up to protest the verdict on January 15, but the court on Monday abruptly¹¹ moved up the date by two weeks.

At the hastily arranged evening rally, a much smaller group of Navalny supporters chanted for freedom in Russia and denounced Putin.

The turnout was pretty good considering the timing¹² - just a day before New Year's Eve and with freezing temperatures, said protester Mikhail.

"Of course they wanted to weaken the reaction, because on the 15th more people would have turned out. But I think they will still come on the 15th," Mikhail said.

Some scuffles broke out as supporters of Putin clashed with the protesters. A number of people were arrested as busloads of riot police moved in after a couple of hours to clear the square of any signs of public opposition.

1 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。

2 embezzlement   

n.盗用，贪污

参考例句：

• He was accused of graft and embezzlement and was chained and thrown into prison.他因被指控贪污盗窃而锒铛入狱。
• The judge sent him to prison for embezzlement of funds.法官因他盗用公款将其送入监牢。

3 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。

4 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

5 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

6 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

7 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 annexation   

n.吞并，合并

参考例句：

• He mentioned the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910 .他提及1910年日本对朝鲜的吞并。
• I regard the question of annexation as belonging exclusively to the United States and Texas.我认为合并的问题，完全属于德克萨斯和美国之间的事。

9 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。

10 martyr   

n.烈士，殉难者；vt.杀害，折磨，牺牲

参考例句：

• The martyr laid down his life for the cause of national independence.这位烈士是为了民族独立的事业而献身的。
• The newspaper carried the martyr's photo framed in black.报上登载了框有黑边的烈士遗像。

11 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

12 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。