But what did for both was imperial overstretch, a rotten economy and, like Russia's today, a mostly unaccountable ruling caste that led a proud country to disaster.

但实际上这两者都导致了帝国的过度扩张，造成了糜烂的经济，产生了一个极不负责任的统治阶层，——就像今天的俄国一样，把一个骄傲的国家引向了灾难。