普京警告俄國可能面臨兩年經濟衰退
A defiant Vladimir Putin said Russia should brace itself for two years of recession, as he blamed the country’s economic woes on a western plot to defang the Russian bear.
The president was speaking at a three-hour press conference that saw him address this week’s market turmoil in public for the first time.
俄羅斯總統普京舉行了三個小時的記者會，會上他首次公開發表了對本週市場動盪的看法。He claimed that a period of economic hardship was the price Russia would have to pay to maintain its independence in the face of western aggression, repeatedly blaming the rouble’s plunge and a looming recession on “external factors”.
普京稱，面對西方的進逼，一段經濟困難時期是俄羅斯爲了維護國家獨立而不得不付出的代價。他一再將盧布暴跌和正在逼近的經濟衰退歸咎於“外部因素”。
In a metaphor that summed up his entire performance, he compared Russia to a bear that the west was trying to weaken by stripping it of its nuclear weapons and taking its natural resources.
他的整個講話可以用一個比喻概括，他將俄羅斯比作一頭熊，而西方正企圖通過剝奪它的核武威力和獲取它的自然資源來削弱它。“They will always try to put it on a chain,” he said. “As soon as they succeed in doing so they will tear out its fangs and claws.” That, he said, would leave it nothing but a “stuffed animal”.
他說：“他們總是企圖用鏈子拴住它。一旦他們成功了，他們將拔掉它的尖牙利爪。”他說，那將使這頭熊淪爲一隻“毛絨動物”。Mr Putin was speaking after a week of high drama in Moscow, as the rouble slid 16 per cent against the dollar in the space of two days, evoking memories of the disastrous 1998 financial crisis when Russia defaulted on its domestic debt.
普京發表此次講話前，本週莫斯科上演了一場大戲，盧布兌美元匯率在兩天裏暴跌16%，喚起了人們對災難性的1998年金融危機的回憶，當時俄羅斯在國內債務上違約。The currency, which is now about 45 per cent lower since the start of the year, has been dragged down by plunging oil prices and western sanctions imposed over Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and its intervention in eastern Ukraine.
受油價暴跌和西方制裁的拖累，盧布現在比年初時低了大約45%。由於俄羅斯吞併克里米亞及干涉烏克蘭東部，西方正在對俄羅斯實施制裁。The central bank’s shock 6.5 percentage point increase in interest rates to 17 per cent on Tuesday night failed to tame markets. The bank forecasts that Russia’s economy could shrink by almost 5 per cent next year if oil prices stay at about $60 a barrel.
俄羅斯央行在週二晚令人震驚地升息6.5百分點，至17%，但沒能安撫市場。俄央行預測，如果油價徘徊在每桶60美元左右，俄羅斯經濟明年可能萎縮近5%。As Mr Putin spoke, the ripple effects of the rouble’s volatility on the Russian economy became clearer, with interbank rates jumping to their highest level in nine years and foreign manufacturers freezing sales in Russia.
普京講話之際，盧布波動對俄羅斯經濟造成的漣漪效應變得更加清晰，銀行同業拆借利率飆升至九年來最高水平，國外製造商凍結了在俄的銷售。But Mr Putin appeared in control and relaxed. He did, however, face more hard-hitting questioning from the usually loyal crowd, particularly on the economy.
但普京表現出一切盡在掌控和放鬆的樣子。然而，通常忠實的觀衆向他發出了更尖銳的質問，特別是在經濟問題上。Grilled on the actions of the central bank, Mr Putin gave qualified support to its governor, Elvira Nabiullina, who has been criticised by some Russian banks and companies for not doing more to stem the rouble’s fall earlier this year. He stressed that the government also bore responsibility for the currency’s slide, fuelling rumours over the future of prime minister Dmitry Medvedev or of a shake-up in the cabinet.
面對有關俄羅斯央行行動的嚴厲追問，普京對央行行長埃爾薇拉•納比烏里娜(Elvira Nabiullina)給予了有限支持，一些俄羅斯銀行和公司批評她沒有在今年早些時候採取更多行動阻止盧布下跌。普京強調，政府也要爲盧布下跌負責，這助長了關於俄羅斯總理德米特里•梅德韋傑夫(Dmitry Medvedev)的前途、以及內閣重組的謠言。The president denied that Russia would impose capital controls, instead promising to offer more help to the corporate sector and “provide them not only with foreign currency but rouble liquidity”.
普京否認俄羅斯將實行資本管制，他承諾向企業界提供更多幫助，“不僅爲他們提供外國貨幣，還要提供盧布流動性。”
