- Alsynov supporters protest detention
- Allegations of migrant animosity
- Baymak demonstration faces investigation
Hundreds of protesters gathered in the capital of the Russian republic of Bashkortostan to show their support for incarcerated rights activist Fail Alsynov. At least ten individuals have been detained.
Sota Vision, an independent news outlet, published footage showing police in the city of Ufa relocating protesters.
This was the first Alsynov-supporting protest in the region’s capital, though the third of the week.
On Wednesday, he received a sentence of four years in a penal colony.
His defence against charges that he incited ethnic hostility towards migrant labourers was that his Russian was poor.
Local reports indicate that around 1,500 individuals had congregated in Ufa early on Friday, notwithstanding warnings from authorities that the protesters would face severe repercussions.
On Thursday, Radiy Khabirov, the regional leader of Bashkortostan, committed to exposing the “true colours” of the demonstrators. They were accused of instigating extremism and drawing inspiration from foreign sources.
Police were captured on camera encircling Salavat Yulaev Square in the heart of the city and herding away demonstrators.
Another image showed the crowd and police clashing when a woman’s protest sign was taken as officials took her away.
In Baymak, the demonstrations commenced two days before the sentence of Fail Alsynov to four years in prison.
Approximately 400 kilometers (250 miles) to the southeast of the regional capital, in a small town, thousands of protesters gathered to express their ire in one of the largest gatherings since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago.
Reportedly, tear gas was discharged, and batons were allegedly used against protestors, according to a charity. Footage showed individuals throwing snowballs at police.
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, termed the demonstrations “individual incidents” and told local authorities to handle the situation.
In connection with the “mass rioting” charges that bear a maximum prison term of 15 years, the authorities have initiated an investigation into a subset of the protesters in Baymak.
Local authorities in Ufa paid a visit to Bashkir singer Altynai Valitov after his Instagram post urging for demonstrations in Bashkortostan and other regions of Russia.
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Alsynov’s Derogatory Remarks Controversy
Fail Alsynov was found guilty of derogatory remarks directed towards migrants during a protest against gold mining proposals. However, his supporters argued that the conviction was postponed as retribution for his efforts to prevent soda mining in a place revered by the locals.
It is said that he referred to the majority of Russia’s migrant population, comprised of Central Asians and Caucasians, as “black people,” a derogatory term in Russian.
Conversely, he maintains that the Russian translation of the Bashkir words he employed meant “poor people” and was an error. He has every intention of appealing the verdict.
Alsynov has previously characterized military mobilization in the area as a “genocide” against the Bashkirs. They are an indigenous Turkic people near the Tatars, occupying the southern Ural Mountains.
Long-standing allegations suggest that a disproportionate number of Russian ethnic minorities are being deployed to the Ukraine conflict.
Alsynov was a prominent figure in Bashkort, a Bashkir ethnic identity preservation grassroots movement that was outlawed in 2020 for its extremist stance.
