Russian Navalny Protests - News Review

Demonstrations have been taking place in Russia after Alexei Navalny, President Putin's most high-profile critic, was arrested on his return to Russia a week ago. In the summer last year, Navalny was poisoned. Catherine and Neil have the vocabulary you need to talk about this story.

Related stories:
Belarus: Protests spread - https://youtu.be/MV2fDZX8AZA
Djokovic hits line judge with ball - https://youtu.be/FzFqgZ1FxFw

Video chapters:
0:00​ - Introduction
0:30​ - Story
1:58​ - Headline 1: Alexander Navalny's political gifts could spell the beginning of the end for Vladimir Putin
4:35​ - Headline 2: Russia Navalny protests: Kremlin hits out at West as it downplays rallies
8:19​ - Headline 3: Echoes of Belarus in Russia's Navalny protests
11:11​ - Language summary

Key words and phrases

spell the end
indicate a major change is going to happen
*Electric cars spell the end for the petrol engine.
*Everyone is hoping the vaccine will spell the end for the pandemic.

downplays
makes something seem less important than it is
*It’s important not to downplay the threat of coronavirus.
*The minister downplayed her role in the corruption scandal.

echoes
reminders of past events
*There are echoes of 80s pop in lots of new music.
*Some say the attack on the Capitol had echoes of 1930s Germany.

More here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/course/newsreview/unit-16/session-178
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