Tensions Escalate in Bashkortostan as Security Forces Target Opponents of Controversial Mining Project

Authorities in Russia’s Bashkortostan republic and the adjacent Magnitogorsk region conducted raids on homes and apprehended activists opposing a government-supported initiative to exploit copper mining deposits close to their neighborhoods, local news sources reported on Thursday.

In the early hours of Thursday, law enforcement officials searched the residence of Ural Baybulatov, a prominent Bashkir activist, as reported by RFE/RL’s Volga-Ural service Idel.Reali, citing a source who wished to remain anonymous.

Security personnel also executed a search warrant at the home of Ildar Khabirov, a businessman based in Magnitogorsk who has been vocal against the mining project, according to various local Telegram channels. His current location remains unclear.

Earlier this year, a subsidiary of the Russian Copper Company (RCC) announced intentions to explore and extract minerals in the Kyrktytau mountain range, an area favored by outdoor enthusiasts.

This announcement has sparked frustration among local residents and environmental advocates in the region, who argue that the project could cause irreversible damage to their Indigenous lands and intertwined ecosystems, including those in neighboring Kazakhstan.

Opponents of the mining initiative have launched a significant online campaign and initiated two petitions against it. However, local authorities have consistently denied their requests to organize protests under various justifications.

The mining site is situated near the rural community of Salavat-sovkhoz in the Abzelilovsky district of southeastern Bashkortostan.

Supporters of Kyrktytau have also participated in town hall meetings with representatives from the mining company, where passionate speeches by the residents of Abzelilovsky district rapidly gained traction online.

On Thursday, the crackdown also affected ordinary citizens who are against the mining project, as reported by several local Telegram channels. While there have been no confirmed arrests, it has been reported that security forces threatened individuals with detention should they attempt to publicly oppose the project in the future, including via social media.

The situation surrounding Kyrktytau continues to escalate alongside the ongoing sentencing of more than 80 Bashkir men and women involved in the Baymak case, recognized as the largest political trial in contemporary Russian history.

In January 2024, thousands protested in Baymak, a southwestern town in Bashkortostan, demanding the release of Fayil Alsynov, a notable Indigenous Bashkir rights advocate who was sentenced to four years in a penal colony for his involvement in protests against illegal gold mining in the region.

During a court hearing on Tuesday, defendants in the Baymak case staged a protest advocating for Kyrktytau, holding a banner that stated “Kyrkty live on!!!”

Lilia Chanysheva, the former regional coordinator of Alexei Navalny’s political movement in Bashkortostan, now in exile, expressed on Telegram on Thursday, “The authorities are doing everything possible to instill fear in people regarding the defense of their land, to stifle their voices, and to discourage mentioning anything about the authorities’ involvement in mining at Kyrktytau.”

“But the truth… lies with us, the local residents who cherish their land and wish to safeguard it for future generations. These repressive actions will not endure indefinitely. A moment of reckoning will arrive, and those who have suppressed our people for decades will be held accountable — whether before the public or before God,” Chanysheva concluded.