Instead, the Russian people have now challenged the status quo. Their reaction to Putin’s plan – from the announcement last September that President Dmitri Medvedev would stand aside for his mentor, to the deeply flawed parliamentary and presidential elections – and their accumulated resentment of Kremlin cronies’ massive enrichment, has placed pressure on Putin and the top-down system of government that he created.
相反，俄罗斯人现在已经开始在挑战现状了。从去年九月公布计划总统梅德韦杰夫将站在一旁为普京助阵，到有严重缺陷的议会和总统选举，俄罗斯人民对普京的计划及不断积累的对克里姆林宫亲信的不满情绪，给普京及其创建的政府自上而下的管理体系造成了很大的压力。