Spectre of stagnation: Russia's economy

① Economic policymakers and business bigwigs meet today to wrap up the Gaidar Forum, an annual symposium.

② They had reasons to exhale in 2017: after two years of recession, Russia's economy returned to growth, and inflation was under the central bank's 4% target, down from over 16% in 2015.

③ However, without deep reforms, GDP growth is unlikely to rise above the current level (under 2%, most reckon).

④ That worries the Kremlin ahead of Vladimir Putin's next presidential term. (He is certain to win elections in March.)

⑤ The conference has been filled with talk of how to modernise the economy.

⑥ Most experts agree that more must be spent on human capital, to the possible detriment of defence—a bitter pill for the security services to swallow.

⑦ Liberals pitch their plans in terms Mr Putin is more likely to understand: a stagnant economy cannot support his geopolitical ambitions, and technological backwardness threatens not only incomes, but national security.

▍生词好句

spectre /ˈspɛktə/: n. 幽灵

stagnation /staɡˈneɪʃ(ə)n/: n. 滞涨

bigwig /ˈbɪɡwɪɡ/: n. 大人物；有重要影响的人

wrap up: 总结；使……顺利进行/圆满完成

symposium /sɪmˈpəʊzɪəm/: n. 会议；专题讨论会

academic symposium 学术会议

exhale /ɛksˈheɪl, ɪksˈheɪl/: vi. 长吁一口气；呼气

inhale /ɪnˈheɪl/: vi. 吸入；吸气

reckon /ˈrɛk(ə)n/: vi. 认为；估计

detriment /ˈdɛtrɪm(ə)nt/: n. 损害；缩减

bitter pill: 苦药

a bitter pill to swallow: 难以下咽的苦果；不能不接受的情况

pitch /pɪtʃ/: vt. 提案；说服（vi. 竞价）