Vladimir Putin has won the expected first-round victory in Russia’s presidential election. But this is not business as usual. The middle-class protests of recent weeks show that politics, after a 12-year slumber, have reawoken. Just months ago, it was assumed Mr Putin could be back for two more presidential terms. Instead, yesterday’s poll marks the beginning of what is in all probability his final six-year term; the beginning of the end of the Putin era.
弗拉基米爾?普京(Vladimir Putin)已如預(yù)期的那樣在第一輪投票中就勝出,當(dāng)選俄羅斯總統(tǒng)。但一切已今非昔比。近幾周來中產(chǎn)階層的抗議顯示,在沉寂了12年之后,政治生活已經(jīng)覺醒。就在幾個(gè)月前,人們還覺得普京重新當(dāng)選總統(tǒng)后可能會(huì)再干兩個(gè)任期。然而,昨天的民調(diào)顯示,這很有可能將是普京的最后一個(gè)6年總統(tǒng)任期。普京時(shí)代開始走向終結(jié)。