January 17, 2023

Several dozen people were detained, many were beaten during the suppression by the Bashkir authorities of a protest rally in the city of Baymak, which became the largest since the protests in support of Navalny. When beating protesters, security forces use tear gas and other special means. Protesters report “violent clashes” with police and that Russian National Guard forces were deployed to help local security forces.

A protest of many thousands in the Bashkir Baymak began on the morning of January 17, immediately after the announcement of the verdict of regional activist Fail Alsynov, who was sentenced to 4 years in prison on charges of “inciting ethnic hatred.” About 10 thousand people gathered at the Baymak district court building and  demanded the release of both Alsynov himself and all the activists detained over the past two days, during which protests continued in the city.

According to eyewitnesses publishing details on the Kushtau Bayram channel, law enforcement officers brought to the scene by the authorities began to disperse the rally by force, using tear gas, stun grenades, shields, fists and batons. Violent clashes between people and security forces and dozens of arrests are reported. People throw pieces of ice and snowballs at the riot police. At least several people were severely beaten, one had his head broken . Trucks and buses carrying National Guard members are rushing into the city , RusNews reports. Against the backdrop of these clashes, interruptions in the operation of the WhatsApp messenger began in Russia.

According to political scientist Abbas Gallyamov, thanks to the events in Bashkiria, the Russian authorities found themselves face to face with a new, unfamiliar form of “illiberal” protest, during which “force is usually met with force.” “The situation in Bashkiria is heating up. This does not mean that the regime there has been overthrown right now, but it does mean that when suppressing discontent, the authorities will have to act very harshly, and this in turn means that many painful grievances will be stored in the treasury of the people’s memory. This means that at the moment when things go very badly for the regime, the burden of claims that the people will get and present may turn out to be completely unbearable,” writes Gallyamov , noting that “the Moscow white ribbon workers will still be remembered with nostalgia.”

The Baymaksky district court in Bashkortostan sentenced Fail Alsynov, a Bashkir activist and defender of the Kushtau Shikhan, to four years in a general regime colony. He was found guilty of inciting ethnic hatred (Part 1 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The Investigative Committee opened the case against Alsynov based on a denunciation by the head of Bashkortostan, Radiy Khabirov. The occasion was the activist’s speech at a citizens’ gathering in the village of Ishmurzino on April 28, 2023, which he delivered in Bashkir. The investigation claimed that Alsynov’s speech “contained statements that negatively assessed groups of people: “residents of the Caucasus,” “Central Asia,” “Armenians,” as well as humiliation of their human dignity.”

According to Mediazona, shortly before this speech, security forces came to Alsynov and another activist Ilnar Galin with searches. Previously, both of them were chairmen of the Bashkort organization, which was recognized by the court in 2020 as extremist and banned in Russia. Activists of this organization advocated for the preservation of the study and teaching of the Bashkir language in regional schools and defended the preservation of the Shikhany mountain range (a natural and cultural monument under the threat of industrial development).