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Ten Key Russian Words for Talking About Brexit Posted by on Jul 4, 2016 in News

The news of #Brexit has been trending over the last few days. For those who were away on a desert island, the United Kingdom has held a referendum and voted to leave the European Union. Here are some useful words for discussing Brexit with your Russian friends.

red phone booth

Image from Pixabay

1. Европейский союз

Европейский союз, also known as Евросоюз or ЕС for short, refers to the European Union.

Полный выход из Евросоюза приведет к возникновению торговых барьеров (Complete withdrawal from the EU will create trade barriers ).
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2. Референдум

Russian uses the same Latin word for “referendum” as English – референдум. The usual collocation is проводить референдум, to hold a referendum.

Итоги референдума обернулись трудностями на бирже (The referendum outcomes turned into stock market troubles).
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3. Соглашение

Соглашение is the word for “agreement.” The usual collocation is заключать соглашение. Договор, contract, can sometimes be used as a synonym for “соглашение.”

Думаю, что скандинавские страны заключат какое-то новое соглашение с Англией и, возможно, выйдут из ЕС (I believe Scandinavian countries will reach some new agreement with English and possibly leave the EU).
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4. Голосовать

Голосовать means to vote. This word comes from голос, voice. Voting is голосование.

Согласно официальным данным, за выход страны из ЕС проголосовали 51,9% (According to official data, 51.9 percent voted in favor of the country leaving the EU).

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5. Свобода передвижения

Свобода передвижения means “freedom of movement.” You may recognize the word двигаться, to move.

Противники выхода говорят, что в обмен на доступ британских товаров и услуг к европейскому рынку Великобритания может быть вынуждена согласиться на свободу передвижения граждан ЕС (Oppenents of leaving say that, in exchange for the access for British goods and services to the European market, the UK may have to agree to free movement of EU citizens).

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6. Рабочие места

Another expression that comes up in discussions of Brexit is рабочие места, jobs. As you remember, работа as in work cannot be plural (работы as in works can).

В преддверии референдума уже начались дебаты о том, сколько миллионов рабочих мест потеряет или создаст Великобритания, выйдя из состава Европейского союза (Debates started even before the referendum about how many million jobs the UK will lose or create by leaving the European Union).

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7. Товары

Товары means “goods,” and often goes with услуги, “services.”

Чем больше будет падать фунт, тем меньше британцев будут покупать французские товары, так как они подорожают (The more the pound drops, the fewer Brits will buy French products because they will go up in price).

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8. Свободная торговля

Another aspect that’s being discussed is free trade, свободная торговля.

На заключение договора о свободной торговле понадобятся годы, и результат этих переговоров не ясен (It will take years to sign a new free trade agreement, and the outcome of these negotiations is unclear).

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9. Налоги

Налог is the word for “tax.” It is related to the word положить, to put.

В результате правительству придется экономить, прежде всего, на социальной сфере и обороне, а также повысить налоги (As a result, the government will have to cut spending, promarily on social spending and defense, as well as raise taxes).

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10. Переговоры

Finally, many of the articles mention talks or negotiations, переговоры. This word comes from говорить, to talk.

ЕС отказал Великобритании в неформальных переговорах (The EU has refused to hold informal talks with the UK).

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What other words you think may be useful? Have you seen any coverage of Brexit in Russian?

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About the Author: Maria

Maria is a Russian-born translator from Western New York. She is excited to share her fascination with all things Russian on this blog. Maria's professional updates are available in English on her website and Twitter and in Russian on Telegram.


Comments:

  1. Mark S:

    Hi Maria — it would be helpful if you could use the ё — например, если я не ошибаюсь, приведет, это приведёт, но я обычно не совсем уверен)

    • Maria:

      @Mark S Hi Mark,
      Thank you for your comment. These contexts come from a Russian newspaper, hence no ё. I’ll be glad to edit them in the future, though!

      • Mark S:

        @Maria Спасибки!