A Year of Living Hopelessly
June 19, 2013
觀點
俄羅斯人失去希望的一年
瑪莎·格森 2013年06月19日
Anatoly Maltsev/European Pressphoto Agency
俄羅斯反對派的支持者手舉橫幅示威遊行，橫幅上寫着，「權利不是給予的，權利需要爭取」，紀念過去一年反對弗拉基米爾·普京的抗議。
莫斯科——我覺得自己最近一直在參加一個又一個守靈活動。有這種感覺很奇怪，因為沒有人去世。
5月末，我參加了一個為政治新聞記者舉辦的年度頒獎典禮。
這個活動是由一個自由派基金會贊助的，通常都會吸引莫斯科媒體圈的幾百個名人，他們都是這個活動的常客。這一次，每個上台講話的人都以關於俄羅斯頂尖經濟
學家謝爾蓋·古里耶夫(Sergei Guriev)的話題開場。古里耶夫最近宣布，他是因為害怕被捕才離開俄羅斯的。
每個發言的人都會說些類似於「今天，謝爾蓋沒和我們在一
起」的話，並且補充說，儘管能明顯覺察到他的缺席，但依然能感受到他的影響，或者說他推崇的原則依然在被執行，又或許會說，他會對提名人選滿意。頒獎典禮
從各個方面都聽着像是守靈，只不過謝爾蓋·古里耶夫在巴黎一切安好，而且還能在網上觀看典禮。
頒獎典禮已經過去了兩周半，之後這段時間裡的新聞，比俄羅斯在相對更平靜歲月里幾個月甚至幾年時間裡的新聞都多。僅以上周為例。議會通過了一部法律，法律規定，冒犯他人宗教情感的行為是犯罪，最高會被判處三年監禁。這部法律還禁止「宣傳不合傳統的性關係」。超過25名反對仇視同性戀的抗議者在議會前遇襲，然後被捕（我就是被捕者之一），一些抗議者慘遭毒打，而警察卻袖手旁觀。俄羅斯的另一位巨星、國際象棋世界冠軍加里·卡斯帕羅夫(Garry Kasparov)表示，因為害怕被捕，他不會回到俄羅斯。議會負責家庭事務的委員會主席宣布，國家很快會制定出一個辦法，把同性戀家庭的孩子帶走。依然保持獨立的出版物沒幾家了，其中的一家也快倒閉了。
周末，我到格魯吉亞首都第比利斯和一群朋友一起參加了一場
結婚一周年的紀念活動：我們去年在那對夫婦的婚禮上玩得很高興，因此決定每年都去第比利斯，讓這成為一項傳統。按照格魯吉亞的傳統，要頻頻祝酒。夫婦倆中
的丈夫伊利亞(Ilya)首先說了祝酒詞：「過去的一年很糟糕。但回首過去，我意識到這一年也很美好，因為我是和薇拉(Vera)一起度過的。」
所有人都碰杯了。大家都同意過去的一年很糟糕。實際上，接下來的大多數祝酒詞都選擇了過去一年裡的可怕和悲傷為主題。感覺也像是一次守靈。
但沒有人去世。在座的人不少，但沒人罹患重病，或是真地遭遇了任何不幸（個別的分手或失業除外）。然而，大家都懂伊利亞的意思，也都同意他的觀點。過去的一年很糟糕，這是像我們這樣的俄羅斯人失去希望的一年。
At the end of May, I went
to an annual awards ceremony for political journalists. Sponsored by a
liberal foundation, the event usually draws a familiar crowd of a couple
hundred Moscow media personalities. This time, one speaker after
another began by talking about Sergei Guriev, Russia’s top economist who
recently announced he had left the country for fear of arrest.
Each of the speakers would say some version “Sergei
is not with us today,” and add that though his absence was palpable,
his influence was still felt or that the principles he promoted were
still implemented — or that he would have liked the choice of nominees.
It sounded like a wake in every way, except that Sergei Guriev is alive
and well in Paris and could watch the ceremony on the Web.
The two and a half weeks
since that ceremony have brought more news than Russia used to see in
months or even years in quieter times. Take just the last week.
Parliament passed a law making it a crime, punishable by up to three
years in prison, to offend someone’s religious sensibilities. It also banned the “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations.”
More than 25 anti-homophobia protesters were attacked — some brutally
beaten while the police looked on — and detained in front of Parliament
(I was one of those detained). Another Russian superstar, the chess
champion Garry Kasparov,
said he would not be returning to Russia for fear of being arrested.
The head of the parliamentary committee on family affairs announced that
the state would soon work out a way to remove children from families
with same-sex parents. One of the few remaining independent publications
is folding.
Over the weekend, I joined a
group of friends in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, for a first wedding
anniversary: We had had such a good time at their wedding last year that
we decided to make an annual tradition of the Tbilisi sojourn. As the
Georgian tradition demands, there were many toasts. The husband, Ilya,
said the first one: “It has been a terrible year. But when I look back
on it, I realize it was also a wonderful year, because it was a year I
spent with Vera.”
Everyone clinked their
glasses. Everyone agreed it had been a terrible year. In fact, most of
the toasts that followed picked up the theme of the awfulness and the
sadness of the last year. It felt like a wake.
But no one had died. None
of us in this large group had become seriously ill or, indeed, suffered
any misfortune beyond the occasional breakup or lost job. And yet
everyone knew what Ilya meant — and everyone agreed with him. It has
been a terrible year, the year Russians like us lost hope.
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