In the republic of Bashkortostan there is an event that has become even rarer in Russia than before in the almost two years of the major invasion of Ukraine: thousands have protested against a court verdict that they consider to be unjust.
In the small town of Baimak, which has almost 18,000 inhabitants and is located on the southern foothills of the Ural Mountains, there were clashes between the crowd and security forces. The latter used batons and led away a number of people; snowballs, gloves and hats flew from the crowd and, according to eyewitness reports, the security forces' batons, which were snatched away from them.
The protests were triggered by the case of activist Fail Alssynov, whom the Baimak court sentenced to four years in prison on Wednesday. At the request of the head of the republic, Radii Khabirov, he is accused of “inciting inter-ethnic strife”, based on statements made in Bashkir at a protest in April last year, which the prosecution, contrary to experts, viewed as ethnically discriminatory.
Those in power want to suppress the protests
The background to the process in which Alssynov wants to appeal is that he is one of the best-known activists in the region and has taken part in numerous protests, including the most famous: it was about the protection of the Kushtau, a mountain that was sacrificed for soda production should, but was declared a natural monument after the protests in 2020. In addition, Alssynov was temporarily active in an association that advocated for a sovereign Bashkortostan and was banned as “extremist”.
The verdict against him was supposed to be announced on Monday, but there were already protests in Baimak, so it was postponed. Demonstrators chanted “Freedom!” on Wednesday and demanded the resignation of the head of the republic.
Video footage from Baimak shows demonstrators being laid in the snow by security forces. At least one person is said to have been seriously injured by blows to the head. With her verdict against Alssynov, the judge, Elina Tagirova, went beyond the sentence demanded by the prosecution; This, along with the harsh crackdown by the security forces, is seen as a sign that those in power want to put down the protests.
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