Clashes soon broke out with police after over 7,000 people gathered outside a court in Russia's Bashkortostan on Wednesday, January 17, in support of the Bashkir activist Fail Alsynov. Alsynov had denounced Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and the drafting of his people, the Bashkirs.

Around 20 people were arrested and six of them were sentenced to between eight and 15 days in prison, the Russian judiciary announced. The protests quickly spread throughout the region, with arrests in the republic's capital, Ufa, on Friday.