美国国家公共电台 NPR--Why Russian pop star Alla Pugacheva dissent against Russia matters

Why Russian pop star Alla Pugacheva dissent¹ against Russia matters

Transcript²

Russian pop diva Alla Pugacheva [Poo-gah-CHEOV-ah] is among those condemning³ President Putin's war in Ukraine. Her willingness to part ways with the Kremlin may hint at a larger domestic groundswell.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

In Russia, dissent against the war in Ukraine is surfacing among some unlikely voices.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

ALLA PUGACHEVA: (Singing in non-English language).

FADEL: Pop diva Alla Pugacheva, heard here, is the latest and arguably the most famous Russian to criticize Vladimir Putin's war. NPR's Charles Maynes joins us now from Moscow. Good morning, Charles.

CHARLES MAYNES, BYLINE⁴: Morning.

FADEL: So for those who don't know, tell us about this artist and what she's done that's grabbing headlines.

MAYNES: Sure. Yeah, Alla Pugacheva emerged as a superstar back in the Soviet⁵ Union in the 1970s with this huge voice. So we got a little taste of that in your intro.

FADEL: Yeah.

MAYNES: In an age that saw Soviet artists, you know, either serve as a megaphone for the state or imitate Western musical tastes, you know, Pugacheva's songs were genuine, you know, occasionally even daring and certainly popular. You know, for decades, she's provided the soundtrack to the experiences of Soviet and Russian women in particular. And her star, it never faded. You know, even today, at age 73, she remains⁶ this major celebrity⁷ whose songs and personal life are of intense interest.

And she's currently married to her fifth husband, this popular television comedian⁸ named Maxim⁹ Galkin. Now, he's been critical of Russia's actions in Ukraine and been labeled by the government as a foreign agent because of it. And that was apparently¹⁰ enough for Pugacheva. You know, she publicly came to the defense¹¹ of her husband. And in a post to social media, she wrote about wanting to put a stop to, quote, "our boys dying" for what she called illusory goals. And she lamented¹² that her beloved country had turned into a pariah¹³ state. So, you know, no mention of Ukraine directly, but the message couldn't have been clearer.

FADEL: Yeah. And how is that message being received?

MAYNES: Well, you know, the Kremlin dismissed it. State media selectively edited her comments. But meanwhile, it seems everyone's talking about it. I reached out to Yuri Saprykin. He is a Russian journalist who often writes about the intersection¹⁴ of culture and politics. And Saprykin argues this is a hugely significant moment.

YURI SAPRYKIN: (Speaking Russian).

MAYNES: So here Saprykin says it's a sensation that Pugacheva has weighed in on politics, really for the first time in her long, storied career. Now, Saprykin points out that Pugacheva has carefully chosen her language here, using patriotic¹⁵ phrases, like our guys and our beloved country, that appeal to her audience, which often overlaps¹⁶ with President Vladimir Putin's own fan base - in other words, his electorate¹⁷. And that, Saprykin argues, gives everyone, really, a license¹⁸ to discuss and debate events in Ukraine in ways that they haven't so far but also in ways that the government hasn't wanted them to.

FADEL: And this isn't the only criticism the Russian president has faced in recent days, right?

MAYNES: Yeah, that's right. You know, he's now facing criticism from nationalists who question his military strategy in Ukraine, you know, arguing that the Kremlin hasn't done enough to achieve its goals. Meanwhile, Russian liberals and the opposition¹⁹, of course, never had much love for the president and vice²⁰ versa. And now you have Pugacheva, you know, this megastar, not only defending her husband from the state but also projecting to her vast audience her displeasure with the direction of the country, which for some, you know, also brings a new kind of twist to her music.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

PUGACHEVA: (Singing in non-English language).

MAYNES: So songs like this one, where she sings defiantly²¹ about leaving a lover in the dust, can now be reinterpreted through a political lens.

FADEL: NPR's Charles Maynes in Moscow. Thanks so much.

MAYNES: Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

PUGACHEVA: (Singing in non-English language).

1 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

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 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 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。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

8 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

9 maxim   

n.格言，箴言

参考例句：

• Please lay the maxim to your heart.请把此格言记在心里。
• "Waste not,want not" is her favourite maxim.“不浪费则不匮乏”是她喜爱的格言。

10 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

11 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

12 lamented   

adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• her late lamented husband 她那令人怀念的已故的丈夫
• We lamented over our bad luck. 我们为自己的不幸而悲伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 pariah   

n.被社会抛弃者

参考例句：

• Shortly Tom came upon the juvenile pariah of the village.不一会儿，汤姆碰上了村里的少年弃儿。
• His landlady had treated him like a dangerous criminal,a pariah.房东太太对待他就像对待危险的罪犯、对待社会弃儿一样。

14 intersection   

n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集

参考例句：

• There is a stop sign at an intersection.在交叉路口处有停车标志。
• Bridges are used to avoid the intersection of a railway and a highway.桥用来避免铁路和公路直接交叉。

15 patriotic   

adj.爱国的，有爱国心的

参考例句：

• His speech was full of patriotic sentiments.他的演说充满了爱国之情。
• The old man is a patriotic overseas Chinese.这位老人是一位爱国华侨。

16 overlaps   

v.部分重叠( overlap的第三人称单数 )；（物体）部份重叠；交叠；（时间上）部份重叠

参考例句：

• The style in these two books largely overlaps. 这两本书的文体有许多处是一致的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The new office overlaps the functions of the one already in existence. 新机构的职能与那个现存机构的职能部分重叠。 来自辞典例句

17 electorate   

n.全体选民；选区

参考例句：

• The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
• He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。

18 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

19 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。

20 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。

21 defiantly   

adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地

参考例句：

• Braving snow and frost, the plum trees blossomed defiantly. 红梅傲雪凌霜开。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。 来自《简明英汉词典》