美国国家公共电台 NPR--Despite sanctions on Russia since it invaded Ukraine, the war continues

Despite sanctions on Russia since it invaded Ukraine, the war continues

Transcript¹

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Unprecedented² international sanctions have been imposed on Russia since it invaded Ukraine. Yet the war continues. So are these efforts to damage the Russian economy working? NPR's Jackie Northam reports.

JACKIE NORTHAM, BYLINE³: The Russian sanctions are wide-ranging, targeting individuals, businesses, imports, exports and commodities. Edward Fishman led the State Department's sanctions policy after Russia invaded Crimea in 2014. He says the sanctions are extremely broad in their scope but were expected to take time to have an impact.

EDWARD FISHMAN: They aren't trying to achieve a psychological change in Putin. They're not trying to make Putin wake up in the morning and decide that Ukraine was not worth the effort. What they're really trying to do is just create attrition in Russia's military industrial complex and its economy writ⁴ large.

NORTHAM: Fishman, now with Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy, says the international community hit hard shortly after the invasion of Ukraine, zeroing in on Russia's banking⁵ system to cut it off from the world.

FISHMAN: In my day, the idea of imposing⁶ blocking sanctions on Sberbank, which is by far the largest bank in Russia, was unthinkable, let alone sanctions on the Central Bank of Russia, which, I would mention, is probably the largest sanctions target in modern history, and one that Putin didn't expect would actually come under sanctions.

NORTHAM: Sanctioning Russia's central bank froze almost half of its $635 billion in foreign reserves. The ruble tumbled. But Elina Ribakova with the Institute of International Finance in Washington says the central bank has spent years putting policies in place to defend its financial system from just this type of scenario⁷.

ELINA RIBAKOVA: So this fortress⁸ Russia strategy, which was talked about and some people laughed about it in the beginning of the 2022 sanctions, it did prove to be at least partially⁹ effective. We were expecting much deeper contraction¹⁰, myself included.

NORTHAM: Russia's economy is expected to contract this year by about 3.5% instead of growth that was expected. There would likely be a bigger drop if it wasn't for oil and gas sales, which make up about half of the government's budget. But the outlook for Russian oil and gas revenues could change soon. Putin has already cut off most of the natural gas flows to Europe, its largest customer. And there are new EU bans and a price cap on Russian oil.

China and India have been on a buying spree of Russian oil, but at deeply discounted prices. Meanwhile, Russians are seeing their modern economy suffer tangible¹¹ setbacks. Thousands of international companies have idled operations or pulled out of Russia completely, taking with them capital investment, technology and expertise¹². Imports have collapsed¹³, which is having an impact on manufacturing in particular. Fishman points to the auto¹⁴ industry.

FISHMAN: Moscow has had to relax rules to allow domestic cars to be manufactured without airbags and anti-lock brakes because they can't source these components¹⁵ domestically. And they used to buy them from Europe and the United States.

NORTHAM: Russia will also struggle to maintain its fleet of commercial aircraft and trains because of a lack of access to Western components, says Ribakova.

RIBAKOVA: Even in the military, Russia is dependent on the foreign-produced chips, for example, and other types of technology. It needs that to continue to wage the war.

NORTHAM: Russia is trying to set up alternative supply routes from places like China and Turkey. Maria Demertzis is a senior fellow at Bruegel, a Brussels-based economics think tank. She says all this is a drag on the country's economy. Demertzis says, it's in terrible shape, but...

MARIA DEMERTZIS: They will survive. They're not going to be eradicated¹⁶ from the world map. But it's going to be a much, much poorer country.

NORTHAM: And there are still more targets for the international community to sanction.

Jackie Northam, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF SMARTFACE AND TOBY TRANTER'S "MAD ZACH")

1 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。

2 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

3 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。

4 writ   

n.命令状，书面命令

参考例句：

• This is a copy of a writ I received this morning.这是今早我收到的书面命令副本。
• You shouldn't treat the newspapers as if they were Holy Writ. 你不应该把报上说的话奉若神明。

5 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

6 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

7 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

8 fortress   

n.堡垒，防御工事

参考例句：

• They made an attempt on a fortress.他们试图夺取这一要塞。
• The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔车攀登上了要塞的城墙。

9 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

10 contraction   

n.缩略词，缩写式，害病

参考例句：

• The contraction of this muscle raises the lower arm.肌肉的收缩使前臂抬起。
• The forces of expansion are balanced by forces of contraction.扩张力和收缩力相互平衡。

11 tangible   

adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的

参考例句：

• The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
• There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。

12 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

13 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

14 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

15 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

16 eradicated   

画着根的

参考例句：

• Polio has been virtually eradicated in Brazil. 在巴西脊髓灰质炎实际上已经根除。
• The disease has been eradicated from the world. 这种疾病已在全世界得到根除。