普京政治對手決心競選總統(tǒng)

Alexei Navalny, Vladimir Putin’s most dogged political opponent, has vowed to force the Kremlin to allow him to run in next year’s presidential elections, in a move that will test the Russian leader’s confidence in his ability to hold on to power.

弗拉基米爾•普京(Vladimir Putin)最頑強的政治對手阿列克謝•納瓦爾尼(Alexei Navalny)誓言要迫使克里姆林宮準許他參加明年的總統(tǒng)選舉，此舉將考驗俄羅斯領導人對自己保住權(quán)力能力的信心。

The lawyer and anti-corruption campaigner said his latest criminal conviction, which under Russian law bars him from running for public office, could not prevent his presidential bid.

身為律師和反腐敗活動人士的納瓦爾尼表示，他受到的最新刑事定罪——根據(jù)俄羅斯法律將禁止他競選公職——不能阻止他參加總統(tǒng)競選。

“We will try to grow support in society until the Kremlin understands that it is necessary to admit me to the elections and the consequences of not admitting me will be even worse,” Mr Navalny said in his first interview since he was convicted of embezzlement last week. “This is a political campaign for a change of power.”

“我們將努力擴大社會支持，直至克里姆林宮明白有必要讓我參加選舉，而且不讓我參選的后果將更加糟糕，”納瓦爾尼在自上周被判犯有挪用公款罪后的首次采訪中表示，“這是一場促使權(quán)力更替的政治運動。”

Even Mr Putin’s critics think it unlikely Mr Navalny would pose a serious threat, given the president’s support ratings of about 80 per cent. But observers believe the way the Kremlin deals with the opposition politician will reflect how safe the Russian leader feels.

即使普京的批評者都認為，鑒于現(xiàn)任總統(tǒng)高達約80%的支持率，納瓦爾尼不太可能對其構(gòu)成嚴重威脅。但觀察人士相信，克里姆林宮對付這位反對派政治人士的方式，將反映出俄羅斯領導人自身安全感的程度。

A court in the city of Kirov gave Mr Navalny a five-year suspended prison sentence on February 9, mirroring a sentence handed down in 2013. Russia’s supreme court in December cancelled the earlier ruling after the European Court of Human Rights found Mr Navalny had not been given a fair trial.

2月9日，基洛夫市一家法院判處納瓦爾尼5年徒刑，緩期執(zhí)行，重復了2013年作出的量刑。在歐洲人權(quán)法院(European Court of Human Rights)認為納瓦爾尼沒有得到公正審判之后，俄羅斯最高法院去年12月取消了早先對他的判決。

“None of these legal things matter. That’s only the formalisation, the procedure,” Mr Navalny said. “The question is a political question. The Kremlin decides the question of elections by not admitting people to [them].”

“這些法律方面的事情都不要緊。這只是形式，是過程，”納瓦爾尼說，“現(xiàn)在的問題是政治問題。克里姆林宮不讓人民加入(他們)，決定著選舉問題。”

In July 2013, immediately after Mr Navalny registered to run for Moscow mayor, the Kirov court found him guilty on the embezzlement charges for the first time, resulting in a ban on his running for public office. But after supporters gathered in Moscow to protest at his exclusion from the ballot, the court, at the request of the prosecution, freed him pending an appeal — a step widely seen as ordered by the Kremlin.

2013年7月，納瓦爾尼剛一登記競選莫斯科市長，基洛夫市法院便首次判他犯有挪用公款罪，致使他被禁止競選公職。但在納瓦爾尼的支持者在莫斯科集會抗議他被排除在競選門外后，法院應檢方的要求釋放了納瓦爾尼以等候上訴——此舉普遍被視為是克里姆林宮下令的。

Although the Putin-appointed incumbent won, Mr Navalny took more than 27 per cent of the vote, a surprisingly strong result given his total absence from mainstream media and lack of access to financial resources other than private fundraising.

雖然普京指定的原莫斯科市長獲勝，但納瓦爾尼獲得了超過27%的選票，這是一個出人意料的強勁結(jié)果——考慮到他完全不被主流媒體報道，且除了私人募捐外沒有其他財源。

The opposition politician now pledges to repeat his Moscow feat. He would do “exactly what we did regarding the mayoral elections in Moscow. We forced them,” he said.

如今，這位反對派政治人士誓言要再現(xiàn)自己在莫斯科市長選舉中的不俗表現(xiàn)。他將“重復我們在莫斯科市長選舉中的做法。我們迫使他們接受，”他說。

Mr Navalny has opened campaign offices in Moscow and St Petersburg, collected more than Rbs15m campaign funds and attracted pledges from more than 25,000 people willing to work as campaign volunteers. Over the next two weeks, the campaign will kick off in Novosibirsk and Yekaterinburg, Russia’s third- and fourth-largest cities and Mr Navalny aims to have campaign offices in the country’s 77 largest cities by summer.

納瓦爾尼已在莫斯科和圣彼得堡開設競選辦公室，籌集了1500多萬盧布的競選資金，并且吸引了超過2.5萬人的承諾愿意承擔競選志愿者工作。接下來兩周，納瓦爾尼的競選活動將在俄羅斯第三和第四大城市——新西伯利亞市和葉卡捷琳堡啟動，納瓦爾尼計劃在今夏之前在全國77個大型城市都擁有競選辦公室。

“By the time we open our 10th campaign office, the level of pushback [from the authorities] will become clear,” he said.

“到我們開設第10家競選辦公室的時候，(來自當局的)阻力將變得清晰，”他說。

Candidates will not be officially registered until December, three months before the polls, and Mr Putin is expected to announce his re-election campaign only then.

候選人直至今年12月(投票前3個月)才能正式登記，預計普京只有到那時才會宣布競選連任。