Defenders of the Kushtau shihan, Rail Hamzin and Rinat Fayzullin. Photo by: Vil Ravilov. Used with permission. The most recent set of protests in Russia, in Bashkortostan, shook the whole country. Journalist Alyona Istomina, who writes for the environment focused independent media Smola, went to the republic and wrote about the people behind the protests. Global Voices is republishing Smola’s article with permission, translated to English and edited for clarity. On January 17, 2024, thousands of people came to the small city of Baymak in the south of the republic of Bashkortostan in Russia to …
