At first glance, Yelets in winter looks like something from a Russian fairy tale.
乍一看，冬天的叶列茨就像俄罗斯童话故事里的场景。
From the embankment I spy the golden domes of Orthodox churches and, down below, ice fishermen dotted along the frozen river.
从堤岸上，我看到了东正教教堂的金色圆顶，在下面，冰冻的河流沿岸散布着冰上渔民。
But in this town, 350km (217 miles) south of Moscow, the fairy tale feeling is transient.
但在这个位于莫斯科以南 350 公里（217 英里）的小镇，童话般的感觉转瞬即逝。
On the riverbank I spot an army recruitment billboard. It promises a one-off sum equivalent to £15,000 to anyone who'll sign up to fight in Ukraine.
在河岸上，我发现了一个征兵广告牌。 它承诺向任何报名参加乌克兰战斗的人一次性提供相当于 15,000 英镑的奖金。
Close by there's a poster of a Russian soldier taking aim with a Kalashnikov.
附近有一张俄罗斯士兵用卡拉什尼科夫冲锋枪瞄准的海报。
"We're there where we need to be," the accompanying slogan declares.
伴随的口号宣称：“我们就在我们需要去的地方。”
The Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Outside Russia it was widely seen as an attempt to force Kyiv back into Moscow's orbit and to overturn the entire post-Cold War security architecture in Europe.
克里姆林宫于 2022 年 2 月 24 日对乌克兰发动全面入侵。 在俄罗斯之外，人们普遍认为这是试图迫使基辅回到莫斯科的轨道，并推翻欧洲整个冷战后的安全架构。
The Russian leadership envisaged a short and successful military operation.
俄罗斯领导人设想了一次短暂而成功的军事行动。
Four years later, Russia's war on Ukraine grinds on. It has lasted longer than Nazi Germany's brutal war on the Soviet Union, known here as the Great Patriotic War.
四年后，俄罗斯对乌克兰的战争仍在继续。 它持续的时间比纳粹德国对苏联的残酷战争（这里称为伟大的卫国战争）还要长。
And, in this town, you can see some of the consequences.
而且，在这个小镇上，你可以看到一些后果。
A giant mural fills one side of a nine-storey Yelets apartment block. Depicted here are the faces of five Russian soldiers, local men killed fighting in Ukraine.
一幅巨大的壁画占据了叶列茨九层公寓楼的一侧。 图中描绘了五名俄罗斯士兵的面孔，他们是在乌克兰战斗中丧生的当地男子。
"Glory to the heroes of Russia!" has been painted at the top.
“荣耀属于俄罗斯的英雄！”已被画在顶部。
The Russian authorities do not release casualty figures for the so-called "special military operation". But Russia is known to have suffered huge battlefield losses. So many of the towns and villages I've visited in the last two years have had museums and monuments dedicated to soldiers killed in Ukraine, as well as separate sections for recent war dead at local cemeteries.
俄罗斯当局没有公布所谓“特别军事行动”的伤亡数字。 但众所周知，俄罗斯在战场上遭受了巨大损失。 过去两年我访问过的许多城镇和村庄都有专门纪念在乌克兰阵亡的士兵的博物馆和纪念碑，以及当地墓地中最近战争死难者的单独区域。
"My friend's husband was killed fighting there. The son of my cousin, too. And grandson," says Irina, who has stopped to chat to me opposite the mural.
“我朋友的丈夫在那里战斗中丧生。 我表弟的儿子也是。 还有孙子，”伊琳娜说道，她在壁画对面停下来和我聊天。
"Lots of people have been killed. I feel sorry for these lads."
“很多人被杀。 我为这些小伙子感到难过。”
Irina is a ticket collector at the bus station. She struggles to make ends meet.
伊琳娜（Irina）是公交车站的检票员。 她努力维持收支平衡。
"Utility bills are suffocating us. Prices are crushing us. It's very hard to get by."
“水电费账单让我们感到窒息。 价格压垮了我们。 很难过。”
Although money is tight, Irina helps put together aid packages for Russian soldiers on the front line. She doesn't criticise the war on Ukraine. She is, though, confused by it.
尽管资金紧张，伊琳娜还是帮助为前线的俄罗斯士兵准备了援助方案。 她没有批评乌克兰战争。 但她对此感到困惑。
"In the Great Patriotic war, we knew what we were fighting for," Irina says. "I'm not sure what we're fighting for now."
“在伟大的卫国战争中，我们知道我们为什么而战，”伊琳娜说。 “我不确定我们现在在为什么而战。”
The border with Ukraine is 250km away. But sometimes the front line feels much closer. This part of Russia, Lipetsk region, like many others, has been targeted by Ukrainian drones. Around Yelets the authorities have installed emergency shelters. I spot one at a bus stop, another in a park.
距乌克兰边境250公里。 但有时候，前线感觉更近了。 俄罗斯的这个地区，利佩茨克地区，和其他许多地区一样，也成为乌克兰无人机的目标。 当局在叶列茨周围设立了紧急避难所。 我在公交车站发现了一个，在公园里发现了另一个。
These concrete constructions stand like monuments to President Vladimir Putin's "special military operation". Before the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine there had been no need for shelters, since there had been no drone attacks on Russia.
这些混凝土建筑就像弗拉基米尔·普京总统“特别军事行动”的纪念碑。 在克里姆林宫全面入侵乌克兰之前，不需要避难所，因为俄罗斯没有遭到无人机袭击。
Blocks of flats in Yelets have designated shelters, too, in basements.
叶列茨的公寓楼的地下室也设有指定的避难所。
"The sirens go off almost every night," Irina explains. "But I don't leave my building. We just go into the corridor where there are no windows."
“警报器几乎每天晚上都会响起，”伊琳娜解释道。 “但我不会离开我的大楼。 我们只是走进没有窗户的走廊。”
In Yelets you'll find signs of war in unlikely places. I notice that the name of a local pancake cafe features the Latin letters V and Z – symbols of the "special military operation".
在叶列茨，您会在意想不到的地方发现战争的痕迹。 我注意到当地一家煎饼咖啡馆的名字带有拉丁字母V和Z——“特殊军事行动”的象征。
The sign outside adds: "Grab a pancake, then the whole world."
外面的牌子上写着：“先拿一块煎饼，然后整个世界。”
I'm taken aback. Then I recall some of the things Vladimir Putin has said.
我大吃一惊。 然后我想起弗拉基米尔·普京说过的一些话。
"Where the foot of a Russian soldier steps, that's ours," he declared in St Petersburg last year.
去年他在圣彼得堡宣称：“俄罗斯士兵的脚踩到的地方，就是我们的脚”。
Two years ago in Moscow I saw an electronic billboard displaying this Putin quote: "Russia's borders do not end anywhere."
两年前，我在莫斯科看到一个电子广告牌，上面写着普京的这句话：“俄罗斯的边界没有尽头。”
Wars are financially draining. With Russia's budget deficit growing and the economy stagnating, the government has raised VAT from 20% to 22%. The Finance Ministry says the extra revenue will be spent on "defence and security."
战争正在耗尽经济。 由于俄罗斯预算赤字不断增长，经济陷入停滞，政府将增值税从 20% 提高到 22%。 财政部表示，额外收入将用于“国防和安全”。
Read more on four years of full-scale war in Ukraine:
了解有关乌克兰四年全面战争的更多信息：
Russian state TV has encouraged the public to be understanding.
俄罗斯国家电视台鼓励公众予以理解。
"We live in a time of war: a war forced on us by the West," TV anchor Dmitry Kiselev told viewers. "We have to win it, and we can't get by without a war budget."
“我们生活在一个战争时期：西方强加给我们的战争，”电视主播德米特里·基谢列夫告诉观众。 “我们必须赢得胜利，没有战争预算我们就无法生存。”
Small businesses are feeling the pinch. In a Yelets bakery the smell of freshly baked raisin bread, scones and cream pastries is intoxicating. But the shop has been hit by Russia's economic downturn and tax hikes.
小企业正感受到压力。 在叶列茨面包店里，新鲜出炉的葡萄干面包、烤饼和奶油糕点的香味令人陶醉。 但该店受到了俄罗斯经济低迷和增税的打击。
"We've had to raise prices," says owner Anastasiya Bykova, "because our utility bills, rent and tax bills have all gone up. And the VAT increase means our ingredients are more expensive.
“我们不得不提高价格，”业主 Anastasiya Bykova 说，“因为我们的水电费、租金和税单都上涨了。 增值税的增加意味着我们的原料更加昂贵。
"Imagine we all have to shut down: our bakery, and the restaurant opposite. We try to make our town look good. But if we close, what's left? Just a dark grey patch."
“想象一下，我们都必须关闭：我们的面包店和对面的餐厅。 我们努力让我们的小镇看起来更好。 但如果我们关闭，还剩下什么？ 只是一块深灰色的斑块。”
An hour's drive from Yelets, in the regional capital Lipetsk, I see more reminders of the war: more military posters, more shelters.
在距离叶列茨一小时车程的地区首府利佩茨克，我看到了更多战争的痕迹：更多的军事海报、更多的避难所。
But in the stairwell of his apartment block, right now Ivan Pavlovich is more concerned about a leaking pipe. There's ice on the wall and the lift's not working.
但在他公寓楼的楼梯间里，伊万·帕夫洛维奇现在更担心的是管道漏水。 墙上结了冰，电梯也坏了。
The pensioner is furious that no-one has repaired it. He rails, too, about high prices and rising utility bills.
养老金领取者对没有人修好它感到愤怒。 他还抱怨高物价和水电费上涨。
Does he think the war is to blame?
他认为战争是罪魁祸首吗？
"If I was younger, I'd go and fight there," Ivan tells me. "The special military operation is excellent. It's just that prices keep rising. Pensions go up, but then prices go up even more. So, what do I gain? Nothing."
“如果我年轻一点，我就会去那里战斗，”伊万告诉我。 “特别军事行动非常出色。 只是价格不断上涨。 养老金上涨，但物价上涨得更多。 那么，我能得到什么？ 没有什么。”
"Of course, we'd live more comfortably if there was no special operation," he adds. "They spend a lot of money on it. People also give what they can. We need to help. I'm not complaining."
“当然，如果没有特殊手术，我们会生活得更舒服，”他补充道。 “他们为此花了很多钱。 人们也尽其所能。 我们需要提供帮助。 我没有抱怨。”
Russians feel that life is getting harder. Few believe they have the power to change that. As the war enters its fifth year, there's little optimism. Many people here are just hunkering down and waiting, hoping for better times.
俄罗斯人感到生活变得越来越艰难。 很少有人相信他们有能力改变这一现状。 随着战争进入第五个年头，情况不容乐观。 这里的许多人只是蹲下来等待，希望有更好的时光。