译者 frank021355
IT WAS a moment Russians had awaited for many years. On December 10th tens of thousands of middle-class Russians came out to demonstrate their indignation, not only at fraud in the December 4th Duma election, but also at being treated with contempt by their rulers. The biggest protests since the early 1990s marked not a revolution, but a transformation of the middle class from consumers to citizens.
俄罗斯等待这一天已经很多年了。12月10日，数以万计的俄罗斯中产阶级出离愤怒，走上街头，抗议12月4日俄杜马选举中的欺诈行为，更要表达对他们在统治者心目中无足轻重这一现状的不满。这场上个世纪九十年代初以来最大的抗议示威活动，并非一场革命，却标志着中产者从纳税人向公民的转变。
For a decade middle-class Muscovites have pursued their careers, sipped coffee in cafés, read glossy magazines, shopped in Ikea and travelled abroad, allowing Vladimir Putin to consolidate power. Now they want the state’s respect as successful citizens whose votes have been stolen by the ruling United Russia party. There was anger, but no aggression, even though the crowds included liberals, communists, anarchists and even some nationalists.
在过去的十年中，莫斯科的中产者在职场打拼，在星巴克这样的地方品尝咖啡，阅读时尚杂志，到宜家购物，出国旅游…………任由普京巩固自己的统治。如今，他们的选票被执政的统一俄罗斯党窃取，但他们依然希望得到祖国对自己作为成功公民的认可。尽管示威的人群中包括自由主义者，共产主义者，无政府主义者甚至民族主义者，但他们始终表达的是自己的愤怒，而没有任何针对性的攻击。
Some carried white flowers and wore white ribbons that Mr Putin later said reminded him of condoms. When the rallies ended without a single arrest, there was a feeling of euphoria. The protesters had chanted “Russia”, just as Mr Putin had recently encouraged United Russia’s members to do. The rallies also differed from previous opposition protests that have rarely gathered more than a few hundred people but always been brutally dispersed. Although the speakers on December 10th included Boris Nemtsov and Vladimir Ryzhkov, two opposition leaders, the main demands were not party political: the removal of Vladimir Churov, head of the electoral commission, the release of political activists, registration of all political parties and fair elections. Unlike the 1980s, the protesters are not looking for a leader, but for new rules for politics.
示威者佩戴白花或白色绶带，这样的打扮被普京先生误认为寓意某种计生用品。没有一起逮捕事件，集会在平静中结束，参与者都表示非常愉快。最近普京鼓励统一俄罗斯党员山呼“俄罗斯”，巧合的是抗议者们也是这样做的。过去的反对抗议往往只能召集到数百人便遭到残酷镇压，此次则大不相同。在12月10日，尽管发言人包括两名反对派领袖涅姆佐夫和雷日科夫，抗议的主要诉求并没有集中在党派和政治上，而是要求选举委员会主席邱洛夫下台，释放政治活动家，开放党禁以及公正选举。与上个世纪八十年代不同，抗议者们所追求的不是一个全新的领袖，而是一套全新的政治游戏规则。
They were mobilised by social networks rather than political parties. A key figure was Alexei Navalny, a popular blogger, who has used social networking to shake the Kremlin’s power and undermine United Russia. Although Mr Navalny is recognised by only 7% of the population, his image of United Russia as a “party of crooks and thieves” is now recognised by more than two-thirds.
抗议者们更多的是被社会力量而非政治党派鼓动起来的。其中关键人物之一名叫Navalny，是一位著名的博主。他利用社交网络的力量动摇了克里姆林宫的统治，削弱了统一俄罗斯党的根基。尽管只有7%的人能够认出他本人，但他关于统一俄罗斯党是“由流氓和小偷组成的党派”的形象描述，已经得到了超过三分之二俄罗斯人的认可。
Mr Navalny identified two key themes: corruption and nationalism (mainly an anti-Caucasus kind). He circumvented the state monopoly on television by appealing to an internet audience. A lawyer by training, he bought shares in several state monopolies and started demanding full disclosure. He has launched a hugely popular website exposing corrupt government tenders. But he also appeals to nationalists. “I consider myself to be a nationalist democrat,” he says. When the official election results showed United Russia with 99% of the votes in the three Caucasus republics, Mr Navalny said that Mr Putin would now be president of Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia, but not Russia.
Navalny先生抗议的主题包括两个方面：腐败和民族主义（主要针对高加索地区）。他通过在互联网上吸引支持者，巧妙的规避了电视台，这一被国家垄断控制的途径。作为一名律师，他在几家国有大型电视台都持有股份，并开始追求自己的出镜率。同时他还创办了一个曝光政府腐败行为的网站，该网站广受欢迎。但他同时也向民族主义者示好：“我把自己定位为一名民族民主主义者。”当选举结果显示，统一俄罗斯党在三个高加索地区共和国赢得99%的选票时，他指出普京可以到车臣、达吉斯坦和印古什三个共和国担任总统，而不是整个俄罗斯的总统。
The fraudulent election has turned Mr Navalny’s virtual status into a real political factor. After addressing a crowd of some 5,000 on December 5th, he clashed with the police and was jailed for 15 days. His arrest, however, was one catalyst for the 50,000-strong peaceful demonstration six days later. By the time of the next protest on December 24th, Mr Navalny should be out of jail. Yet, as Mikhail Dmitriev of the Centre of Strategic Research argues, the protesters already show a preference for networks over parties or leaders.
选举欺诈已经实际上将Navalny先生拖入了政治漩涡。在12月5日对着约5000名群众发表演说后，他与警察发生冲突，并被逮捕拘留了15日。然而，他的被捕，成为了6天之后，约50000人和平示威活动的催化剂之一。到12月24日下一次和平集会之时，Navalny先生将已经出狱。然而，战略研究中心研究员德米特里耶夫认为，抗议者们已经做出了选择，他们更加偏爱社交网络，而不是政党或者领袖。
The Kremlin is trying to sit out the protests, hoping that they will dissipate into the holiday period. But a social shift looks to be under way. The old social contract, with a weak, passive middle class enriching itself while staying out of politics, cannot become an indefinite right to rule.
克里姆林宫里的统治者们正在努力扛到抗议结束，希望抗议者们尽快回家安心过圣诞节。然而，一场社会转变似乎正在进行。过去与弱势、被动的中产者签订的社会合约，在中产阶级不断自我壮大，而又置身政治之外的状况下，已经不能赋予统治者正当统治他们的权力。
A decade of economic growth has made Russia’s middle class more numerous and more active. It now accounts for some 20-25% of the population, says Mr Dmitriev. Having reached a Western level of consumption, it wants respect, independent courts, lawful police, good health care and education and intelligent television. It is tired of Mr Putin and seeks genuine political representation. A feeble attempt to give it a political voice through the Right Cause party was thwarted when Mikhail Prokhorov, a rich oligarch chosen as a supine party leader, tried to assert his independence and was dumped. Mr Putin’s September announcement of a planned job swap with President Dmitry Medvedev seemed just another sign of regress and conceit.
十多年的经济增长，使得俄罗斯的中产阶级人数更加众多，同时在政治上也更加活跃。中产阶级，据德米特里耶夫表示，已经占到了全俄人口的20%至25%。由于接触到了西方式的纳税人服务，中产阶级的诉求包括社会尊重，独立法庭，合法政治，良好的医疗卫生以及教育条件，还有更高级的但是节目。他们已经厌倦了普京并且在积极寻求他们自己真正的政治代表。中产阶级通过正义事业党表达自身政治诉求的无力尝试，在普罗霍罗夫这位富有的寡头被选为领袖，坚持维护自己的独立但最终被抛弃后，还是受到了阻挠。普京在今年9月发表的将与梅德韦杰夫总统进行工作互换的声明，目前看来不过是倒退和傲慢的另一个信号而已。
Belatedly, the Kremlin is trying to repair the damage. Mr Putin this week suggested putting television cameras in all polling stations for the presidential election in March. Mr Prokhorov has now been allowed to register as a presidential candidate. And Mr Putin called Alexei Kudrin, who had resigned as finance minister after the job-swap announcement and this week offered help to the liberal opposition, part of his team.
克里姆林宫里统治者修复裂痕的行为姗姗来迟。普京本周建议在明年三月总统选举时，在所有投票站安装电视摄像头，以保证选举公平性。同时，普罗霍罗夫也被提名为总统候选人。此外，普京称不久前辞去财政部长职务，并向反对派的自由民主党提供帮助的库德林仍在自己的竞选团队中。
The Kremlin’s attempt to fake competition and engineer artificial parties can no longer work, since it was this imitation of a political process that caused the crisis. To retain some legitimacy, Mr Putin must now satisfy some of the protesters’ demands. This week he sacrificed Boris Gryzlov as United Russia’s parliamentary speaker. Perhaps he might pick Mr Kudrin or Mr Prokhorov as his prime minister instead of Mr Medvedev. If he does nothing, the protests may just keep growing.
统治者伪造竞争，制造党派在选举中“陪太子读书”的尝试已经不再有效了，因为正是这种对政治进程的模仿引起了此次危机。要保留自身的合理性，普京必须满足抗议者的部分需求。本周，他解除 了格雷兹洛夫议会发言人的职位。或许他会任命库德林或者普罗霍罗夫为新任总理，而不是梅德韦杰夫。当然，如果他没有采取任何措施，抗议者的数量仍将继续增长。
from 译言-每日精品译文推荐 http://article.yeeyan.org/view/172032/240502
