Almost three decades have passed since the Soviet Union collapsed. Back then, many in the west and in Russia dared to hope a European-style liberal democracy could take hold. Those hopes are in tatters. A clan of former Soviet security men and loyal oligarchs run an ever more Potemkin democracy, with Vladimir Putin as frontman and guarantor. A constitutional referendum last week paved the way for Mr Putin to remain president potentially until 2036 — by which time he will be 83 and the longest-serving paramount Russian leader since Peter the Great. Russia, it seems, has defaulted to its centuries-old model of one-man rule.
苏联解体已近30年。当时，西方和俄罗斯的许多人都大胆地希望欧式自由民主制能够在此地生根。现在，这些希望都已破灭。一个由前苏联安全部门人员和忠诚的寡头组成的小团体执掌着一种越来越假模假式的波将金(Potemkin)式的民主，由弗拉基米尔•普京(Vladimir Putin)担当首脑和保证人。上周举行的宪法公投为普京可能将总统任期延续至2036年铺平了道路。届时，他83岁，将成为彼得大帝(Peter the Great)以来在位时间最长的俄罗斯最高领导人。俄罗斯似乎已经默认延续了几个世纪的“一人统治”模式。