In the Republic of Bashkortostan in central Russia, a prominent local activist has been sentenced to prison, and his supporters have held a series of large-scale demonstrations to protest against this sentence, with some being detained.
Large-scale demonstrations have been rare in Russia since the military invasion of Ukraine, and the government is nervous about maintaining domestic stability ahead of a presidential election in March.
On the 19th, approximately 1,500 supporters of an activist sentenced to prison gathered in the central square of Ufa, the capital city of the Republic of Bashkortostan in central Russia, and held a protest demonstration.
Local authorities have warned of strict crackdowns on the protests, and local media reported that around 10 people were detained by security forces.
The activist is a man from the region's Bashkir ethnic minority, and his efforts to protect culture and the environment have garnered support from locals, but on the 17th of this month he was sentenced to four years in prison for inciting ethnic hatred. The verdict was handed down.
This was the third demonstration this week, and by the time the prison sentence was handed down on the 17th, the demonstrations had swelled to several thousand people, and there were also clashes with security forces.
Since the military invasion of Ukraine began, Russia has tightened its crackdown on citizen protests, and large-scale demonstrations are rare.
Commenting on the series of protests, Russian Presidential Spokesperson Peskov said on the 19th that they were ``not a large-scale riot,'' and pointed out that they were a regional problem.
Ahead of the presidential election to be held in March, in which President Putin aims to win his fifth term in total, the administration is nervous about maintaining domestic stability.