More than ten thousand people poured into the streets of the Bashkir capital of Ufa demanding Rakhimov's resignation and the repeal of the monetization of benefits. The authorities did not address the marchers who have already begun "choosing the color" of the revolution.
According to Chairman of the For Human Rights organization Lev Ponomaryov, human rights advocates have long been closely watching Bashkortostan since the number of rights-violation appeals from there is much greater than those from other regions.
According to Ponomaryov, both the Bashkir and Kyrgyz structures resemble clan and nepotism societies, meaning Bashkortostan could go the way of Kyrgyzstan. In addition to demanding Rakhimov's resignation, marchers want compensation for emotional damage and physical damage residents of Blagoveshchensk suffered when police and special forces beat people during a December operation.
Marat Hairullin, member of the public committee for the Blagoveshchensk affair, said that if the authorities did not respond to the outcries of the population, then the Bashkir opposition would conduct another protest in April demanding Rahimov' s resignation.
If still no response is evoked, then several thousand people will march on Ufa's Central Square on May 1.
Opposition activists say they are seeking to draw the attention of Russian authorities to the people's discontent with the republic's president and the federal government. The May 1 protest would be the third protest opposing the Republic' s leadership.
Ramil Bignov, Chairman of the regional national cultural Tatar Autonomy, said that the appeal for Rakhimov's resignation has collected about 10,000 signatures and that Bashkir residents have already begun muttering words like "to build" and "colored", referencing a revolution.
