VOA标准英语2012--The Road to the Kremlin Goes Through Yaroslavl

The Road to the Kremlin Goes Through Yaroslavl

Two years ago, as the Volga River city of Yaroslavl approached its 1,000th anniversary, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin poured millions of dollars into refurbishing churches and restoring the city’s medieval citadel¹.

Then disaster struck last September. Anti-Kremlin feelings surged after a plane carrying the city’s hockey team crashed shortly after takeoff, killing² all but one on board. The team had been forced to play an away game because President Dmitry Medvedev had taken over their arena³ for a presidential conference.

Prime Minister Putin visited the city and laid flowers on the caskets of the 26 players. But the gesture was not enough.

This month, when Yaroslavl voted for mayor, an outsider, Yevgeny Urlashov, beat the pro-Kremlin candidate 70 to 28. Urlashov said the plane crash turned many people against Moscow.

He said 100,000 people walked to the hockey rink to lay flowers. 

But there was more to the anti-Kremlin vote than that. Urlashov said people were fed up with corruption⁴ that had grown up around a pro-Kremlin mayor, a man who had ruled this city for 23 years.

He said residents want a peaceful change toward a more open, transparent⁵ and competitive system. 

This kind of grassroots democracy has gotten the Kremlin's attention. Opposition⁶ candidates recently won races for mayor in Yaroslavl and four other big cities.

In May, a new law will allow direct elections for governor. In advance, the Kremlin is rushing to appoint governors in eight key regions, including Moscow. 

Urlashov supporter Andrey Chekanov believes the political road to the Kremlin now goes through cities like Yaroslavl. He said in country where nearly 60 percent of adults are on the internet, people are increasingly thinking independently.

Alexander Sokolov, who runs a local civic⁷ action group, says Yaroslavl residents know many projects promised for the city’s 1000th anniversary were never completed. He said promises were not kept, and residents are waiting for answers.

Now, as Vladimir Putin prepares for his May 7 inauguration⁸ as president, he faces a Russia that is increasingly prepared to say, "Nyet."

1 citadel   

n.城堡；堡垒；避难所

参考例句：

• The citadel was solid.城堡是坚固的。
• This citadel is built on high ground for protecting the city.这座城堡建于高处是为保护城市。

2 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

3 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

4 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。

5 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

6 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。

7 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

8 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。