Largest protests in Russia for years: thousands protest in Bashkortostan after local activist sentenced to prison, clashes and arrests repor

Up to 10,000 people gathered outside a court in the city of Baymak in the Russian Republic of Bashkortostan on Jan. 17 to protest a four-year prison sentence handed down to prominent Bashkir activist Fail Alsinov, according to The Insider Telegram channel.

Roads were blocked and internet services in the city were reportedly disrupted, the Russian publication Verstka wrote on Telegram, adding that there were about 3,000 people outside the court in the morning.

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"While Bashkirs are fighting against Ukraine, they are being deprived of their own land in Bashkortostan," Alsinov told the protestors.

Security forces are using tear gas and harshly detaining protesters, who began arriving even before the court's decision was handed down. At least several dozen people were arrested.

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The court convicted Alsinov of "inciting ethnic hatred" after he spoke about the consequences of gold mining in the region. In his remarks, Alsinov used the term "kara khalyk," which can be translated as "black people" in Russian but is commonly used in Turkic languages like Bashkir to refer to ordinary people. However, the court's linguistic experts treated it as an ethnic slur.

Alsinov became well-known for his efforts to protect Bashkortostan’s Mount Kushtau from industrial development, as well as his advocacy for Bashkortostan's sovereignty through his organization Bashkort, which he led until it was banned as "extremist" by the court in 2019.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine