But they have merely ensured the country’s decline. As 2013 begins, Russia is back on the hamster wheel of history, treating the past as prologue – and thus wasting its resources and blighting its people’s lives.
普京希望，国内外的严酷政策能够让他继续掌控俄罗斯。但事实上它们只能确保俄罗斯的衰落。随着2013年的到来，俄罗斯又回到了历史的仓鼠滚轮上，把过去当作新的开端，浪费自己的资源，苦了俄罗斯百姓。