美国国家公共电台 NPR--How Zelenskyy's trip to Washington is being seen in Russia

How Zelenskyy's trip to Washington is being seen in Russia

Transcript¹

NPR's Leila Fadel speaks with Russian history professor Sergey Radchenko about Russia's response to Ukraine President Vlodomyr Zelenskyy's unannounced visit to Washington.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

For more on Russia's reaction, I'm joined by Sergey Radchenko. He is the Wilson E. Schmidt distinguished² professor of Russian history at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Good morning.

SERGEY RADCHENKO: Morning to you.

FADEL: So how is Zelenskyy's trip to Washington being seen in Russia?

RADCHENKO: Well, the Russian reaction has been very mute so far - muted reaction. We haven't seen anything on the Russian news, for example, that would show Zelenskyy in Congress, you know, speaking to the American people. The spokesman for the president, Dmitry Peskov, has commented to the effect that, well, this trip has not contributed to peace in Ukraine, which is an odd thing to say for a country that is actually invading a neighboring state.

FADEL: Right. They've also mentioned a proxy³ war, that this is just the U.S. waging a proxy war on Russia. Is that a widely held view?

RADCHENKO: Well, this is the propaganda line that the Kremlin has been selling to the Russian public, and unfortunately, that is very popular with the Russian public. You could say that the majority of Russian people, although they're weary of the conflict, they still see this as an existential struggle between Russia and the West in which Ukraine is being played for a pawn⁴. So, you know, the line the Kremlin is selling is, well, you know, Washington wants to fight this until the last Ukrainian. Why won't they start, you know, talking peace with us? But, you know - and this is something that the Russian public, I think, are buying, by and large.

FADEL: The war is now nearly 10 months old. Russia's Vladimir Putin seemed to expect rapid, dramatic victories. That's not what is happening. How is the Kremlin portraying⁵ these losses to the Russian public?

RADCHENKO: Well, obviously, they wanted to capture Ukraine within a few days. It did not happen. But then, you know, Putin has decided⁶ to double down. And in recent weeks and months, he declared mobilization. And he is trying to intensify⁷ the war effort. He's still doing it carefully. So the mobilization that was declared was called partial so as to avoid a large discontent on the part of the Russian public. But it's sort of like boiling a frog slowly. You know, it's bit by bit. The Russian government is selling this to the Russian people, saying, well, we are in this existential struggle. You have no other choice but to support the government on this because if Ukraine and the West have their way, then Russia will simply disappear.

FADEL: Is it working? I mean, you mentioned some of the discontent when that military draft was first announced. Is there still an anti-war movement?

RADCHENKO: I'm afraid it's very limited. Obviously, there are people in Russia who are against the war, you know, many intellectuals. Many have fled Russia as well, you know, many professionals there. You know, hundreds of thousands of people ran away from Russia. But I think, by and large, the population is docile⁸. The population has bought into that rhetoric⁹ being sold by the government that this is a war that Russia needs to fight for its very survival.

FADEL: So at this point, are there any signals from the Kremlin that Putin, that Russia might be willing to engage in any kind of peace negotiations¹⁰?

RADCHENKO: I don't see any signals at this point. It seems that Putin is determined¹¹ to continue this war. He has just ordered an increase in the Russian military. It seems that he has suffered some defeats in recent weeks, obviously, but he's doubled down. And he's - as far as we can see, he's determined to continue this war.

FADEL: Sergey Radchenko at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Thank you so much.

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 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

3 proxy   

n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人

参考例句：

• You may appoint a proxy to vote for you.你可以委托他人代你投票。
• We enclose a form of proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting.我们附上委任年度大会代表的表格。

4 pawn   

n.典当，抵押，小人物，走卒；v.典当，抵押

参考例句：

• He is contemplating pawning his watch.他正在考虑抵押他的手表。
• It looks as though he is being used as a political pawn by the President.看起来他似乎被总统当作了政治卒子。

5 portraying   

v.画像( portray的现在分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The artist has succeeded in portraying my father to the life. 那位画家把我的父亲画得惟妙惟肖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ding Ling was good at portraying figures through careful and refined description of human psychology. 《莎菲女士的日记》是丁玲的成名作，曾引起强烈的社会反响。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 intensify   

vt.加强；变强；加剧

参考例句：

• We must intensify our educational work among our own troops.我们必须加强自己部队的教育工作。
• They were ordered to intensify their patrols to protect our air space.他们奉命加强巡逻，保卫我国的领空。

8 docile   

adj.驯服的，易控制的，容易教的

参考例句：

• Circus monkeys are trained to be very docile and obedient.马戏团的猴子训练得服服贴贴的。
• He is a docile and well-behaved child.他是个温顺且彬彬有礼的孩子。

9 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

10 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

11 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。