January 23, 2024

Bashkiris Protest


Bashkiris Protest
A monument to Bashkir national hero Salawat Yulayev in Ufa, the capital of the Republic of Bashakrtostan. Lesnoy Volk, Wikimedia Commons

On January 17, in the city of Baymak, in the Republic of Bashkortostan, a protest rally was held in support of ethnic and environmental activist Fail Alsynov.

Alsynov is best known for his participation in the movement to protect Mount Kushtau from industrial development. He was found guilty of inciting ethnic hatred and sentenced to four years in prison in a penal colony.

Alsynov's supporters began gathering outside the court before the verdict was announced. The protests lasted for several hours. According to various estimates, from several hundred to several thousand people participated. Police used tear gas and stun grenades against the protesters. The protesters responded by throwing snowballs at security forces.

In the end, police detained about 20 persons. The Telegram channel RusNews, which covered the protest action in Baymak in detail, was temporarily unavailable. Before Alsynov's verdict, the Kushtau Bayram Telegram channel, which was used to coordinate the protest in support of Alsynov, also became unavailable. 

Famous Bashkir performer Altynai Valitov called for a follow-up protest on January 19: "I would remain silent now, but my soul burns for this arbitrariness. Why do Russians in Ufa walk around with the words 'Russia for Russians,' yet they are not imprisoned? And a Bashkir who speaks out in defense of his people is imprisoned on his land. Why? Because we are a national minority. They can shout 'We are Russian' to the whole country, but we can’t shout on our land. Where's the justice? And we should swallow this outrage? If we swallow it, in 100 years the Bashkir people with a thousand-year history will disappear. I'm not ready to put up with this. We, Bashkirs, are not ready."

The January 19 rally was held in the central square of Ufa, the capital of Bashkortostan, near a monument to Bashkir national hero Salawat Yulayev. About two thousand people, despite the frosty weather, sang songs and danced in circles to support Alsynov; several people were detained by the police.

The head of the Republic of Bashkortostan called the protests "an attempt to undermine the situation" by "a group of people, some of whom are abroad." The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened a criminal case under articles against organizing and participating in mass riots and the use of violence against a government official. The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation said in a statement that calls were posted on social networks and instant messengers "for the purpose of organizing mass unrest" to take part in protests at the Baymaksky District Court. According to investigators, the protests aimed to free Alsynov from criminal liability. According to media outlet DOXA, so far, four people have been charged in the riot case.

You Might Also Like

Under the All-Seeing Eye
  • January 21, 2024

Under the All-Seeing Eye

The extent of Russia's surveillance may surprise you — and it's only getting more invasive.
The Women with the White Scarves
  • January 08, 2024

The Women with the White Scarves

Family members of drafted soldiers picketed solo in Moscow demanding the return of their loved ones from the war in Ukraine.
Student Sentenced for Spying
  • January 03, 2024

Student Sentenced for Spying

For the first time, Russia has sentenced a student for spying. The 18-year-old was a high-achieving student.
A Snowy Protest
  • December 21, 2023

A Snowy Protest

After a week of heavy snow, Voronezh locals painted snowdrifts with calls for the local government to finally remove them.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955