Russian troops are sent to Kazakhstan to help quell deadly violence

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Russian troops are sent to Kazakhstan to help quell¹ deadly violence

Transcript²

NPR's A Martinez talks to Peter Leonard, Central Asia editor for Eurasia-net, about the dozens of people who died. It's the worst violence there since Kazakhstan gained independence three decades ago.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

The violence in the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan escalated³ sharply last night. State-run media say dozens of people were killed, including at least 13 members of the security forces. Russian troops have been sent to Kazakhstan at the government's request to help quell the violence. It's the worst violence in Kazakhstan since they gained independence three decades ago. Joining us now to help explain the events is Peter Leonard, the Central Asia editor for Eurasianet. Peter, remind us how all of this started and how it all seems to have just escalated so quickly.

PETER LEONARD: Yes. Well, hello. So it began on January the 2 in a oil town in western Kazakhstan, where local people were protesting against the sudden surge in prices for liquefied petroleum⁴ gas, which is the gas that most people there use to power their cars. And so this sort of began as quite a sort of a local, you know, cost of living protest. But inspired by this rally, people in cities nearby began coming out onto the streets in very large numbers that Kazakhstan is not very used to. And this eventually spread all the way across Kazakhstan, all the way to Almaty, which is the country's old capital. Kazakhstan is a country, you know, about the size of Western Europe. It's a huge country. And so to see it - sort of the protests spread across such a kind of a large area so quickly was quite a sight. So by the January the 4th, this had kind of escalated into a big nationwide movement. And we saw the - kind of the most vocal⁵ and, indeed, subsequently violent protests unfolded in Almaty, the business capital of Kazakhstan, on the 4.

MARTINEZ: This nationwide movement that you mentioned, any indication that it's organized or does this seem spontaneous?

LEONARD: It seems absolutely spontaneous. And there's a reason for that - is that Kazakhstan is an authoritarian⁶ former Soviet⁷. It still kind of rules very much in the - kind of the Soviet model. And as a result, all opposition⁸ has been pretty much crushed, and independent media, most of it, has been sidelined. And so as a result, it means that whenever these things happen, it's very difficult for any sort of one leader to sort of emerge as the focal point of these kind of movements. And so this has sort of been the nature of this wave of protests. We don't really know who is leading any of these rallies or any of these protests. And I think that accounts to some extent for the kind of chaos⁹ that's ensued.

MARTINEZ: Will the Russian-led peacekeepers from the former Soviet republics mean that the violence will, at least for now, be quelled¹⁰?

LEONARD: Well, quelled - I don't know if quelled - maybe crushed would be the more...

MARTINEZ: Right. OK.

LEONARD: ...Correct word to use because although these appear to be protests, which then sort of degenerated¹¹ into unrest - I mean, that's beyond dispute - the Kazakh government came out yesterday and basically cast all of these events as the work of terrorists acting¹² on behalf of shady criminal groups. And so the reaction from the government has now been to basically treat this as a terrorist act. And so I think the response is going to be very harsh and very, very bloody¹³, indeed. And we're already seeing evidence of that with news of dozens of protesters having been killed already.

MARTINEZ: That's Peter Leonard, Central Asia editor for Eurasianet. Peter, thank you.

LEONARD: Thank you very much.

(SOUNDBITE OF DISTANT.LO'S "FEELINGS")

1 quell   

v.压制，平息，减轻

参考例句：

• Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
• The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。

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 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

4 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

5 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

6 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

7 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。

8 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。

9 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

10 quelled   

v.（用武力）制止，结束，镇压( quell的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Thanks to Kao Sung-nien's skill, the turmoil had been quelled. 亏高松年有本领，弹压下去。 来自汉英文学 - 围城
• Mr. Atkinson was duly quelled. 阿特金森先生被及时地将了一军。 来自辞典例句

11 degenerated   

衰退，堕落，退化( degenerate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The march degenerated into a riot. 示威游行变成了暴动。
• The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track. 铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄，成了一条崎岖不平的小径。

12 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

13 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。