“An eco-activist is only one and not the most important aspect of Alsynov. This protest in itself is not environmental, it is a national protest. It has a very strong national flavour.
In the last few years, several environmental protests have occurred in Bashkiria against Moscow companies that claimed to develop natural, protected areas. And Bashkir activists advanced in defence of their native land.
But this is not the ecology we mean when we talk about ecology. This is essentially the defence of the native land from the occupier.
Alsynov is the leader of the Bashkir ethnic movement. The main problem is not Alsynov. The problem is that for many years a burden of grievances has been accumulating related to Moscow’s imperial policy when all the money is siphoned out of the regions. “We leave environmental problems to the regions to complain about us for miserable wages, while we take all the profits for ourselves.”
