An elite Russian special forces unit was ordered to suppress protests taking place in the south-central Russian republic of Bashkortostan, according to an investigation by Russian independent news site Agenstvo. The news that has emerged over the past week raises questions about the risk of internal dissent in the wake of last year's uprising by late Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.
The head of the “Thunder” (“Grom”) unit, Ramil Gareev, was identified in a video of the riots published by the Sota telegram channel. “Grom” is considered one of the strongest special forces units in Russia.
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At the time, Russian law enforcement sources confirmed to Moscow-based daily Vedomosti that "Grom" fighters had taken part in hostilities in Ukraine and had been called on to defend Moscow during the Wagner rebellion.
Riots after sentencing
The more recent riots in Bashkortostan, the largest since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, follow the sentencing hearing of Fail Alsynov, a local activist sentenced on Jan. 17 to four years in prison for inciting ethnic hatred, according to Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti.
Alsynov was a leader of a group that advocated for the preservation of the Bashkir language and culture, and protested against limestone and gold mining operations in the region. The group, called Bashkort, was outlawed as extremist in 2020.
The protests also come just two months before Russia's presidential election
Videos showed supporters of Fail Alsynov clashing with police near the local court building where he had been convicted. Riot police fired tear gas, flash grenades and used batons to disperse demonstrators.
Fear of contagion
As a result, law enforcement officials began negotiations with activists and offered the release of people who had been detained during the protests. But after several hours, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Bashkortostan opened a criminal case into the mass riots.
Bashkortostan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs called the demonstrations an “unauthorized rally” and said police have begun investigating “mass unrest,” in a post on Telegram.
The deployment of special force comes amidst fears that the protests may spread after supporters of Alsynov began publishing calls for the population of Bashkortostan to gather for a protest in Ufa, the republic's capital. Protests last week were limited to the small town of Baymak, 400 kilometers from the capital. In one of the distributed videos, residents of other national republics were also asked to attend the protests.
The protests also come just two months before Russia's presidential election that is widely expected to give Vladimir Putin his fifth term in office. Any signs of dissent are expected to quashed more quickly than ever.