The Bashkir Yiyin took place from June 19 to 21, 2026, in Pennsylvania, United States. It was organized by the Bashkort Community Center "Ural" of America (bashusacenter / Instagram).
Hi. We've adjusted the rules to be more precise in their wording.
We've clarified the prohibition on violating a number of rules.
We've excluded examples of denial of Russia's crimes against Bashkortostan and the Bashkirs (by also adding the wording regarding denial of Russia's crimes against Bashkortostan, not just the Bashkirs). The rule itself remains in effect.
We've clarified the permissibility of using only English and Bashkir; we've also allowed the use of Turkish in exceptional cases (since r/Bashkortostan is visited by a large number of people from Turkey, and Turkish is closely related to Bashkir).
We've clarified examples of hate speech (by adding an example prohibiting Bashkirophobia, Islamophobia, xenophobia, and chauvinism).
Sincerely, your r/Bashkortostan team! Please don't break the rules, or we'll ban you permanently :)
Rami Garipov is now considered a folk hero, but during the Soviet era, Moscow repressed him for a poem it deemed pro-Bashkir (in that it pointed out Moscow's injustice and historical policies against the Bashkirs). It is said that after this, people even stopped greeting him and avoided him. But when the USSR collapsed, Bashkirs remembered Rami Garipov, not those who had loyally served Moscow. He was highly critical of the Soviet Union, and for this, Moscow repressed him.
The enemy is powerless to break our unity.
Before the tsars in their most difficult hour,
We did not bow our heads in submission.
Who will force us to bow our heads?
Rami Garipov
What is a yiyin? It's a public gathering that Bashkirs historically held to resolve political and social issues. Over time, it evolved into a folk festival featuring food and entertainment. This is the first time a Bashkir yiyin has been held in the United States.
Registration and all details are on Instagram for the Bashkir community center Ural (bashusacenter/Instagram).
Twenty-eight-year-old Zagir Mukhamedyarov, who participated in the January 2024 protests in Baimak, was deported from the United States to Moldova. Mukhamedyarov left Bashkortostan in March 2024 and spent two years in an immigration detention center in Louisiana, seeking political asylum.
In September 2024, an immigration court in Louisiana ruled to suspend Mukhamedyarov's deportation. However, Mukhamedyarov was still deported to Moldova. In Chisinau, Moldovan border officials told Mukhamedyarov that he would not be able to obtain a residence permit in Moldova and would only be able to stay in the country for 90 days.
Mukhamedyarov believes the ICE officer violated the organization of his deportation. "They should have officially warned me about this in a timely manner, they should have notified the federal judge presiding over my case, they should have ensured that I got to a safe country. They did none of that. At the Alexandria airport, I tried to talk to them, but I couldn't find the ICE officer in charge of our flight. I tried to call a senior officer, a supervisor, but no one came to see me. In the end, they simply put me on the plane and we flew. I was effectively deported from the US illegally", Mukhamedyarov stated.
According to American law, if US authorities deport someone to a third country rather than their home country, they are required to negotiate with the authorities of that country to provide the deportee with protection, at least a permanent residence permit. However, the US authorities failed to do so.
In Moldova, Mukhamedyarov and the other deportees were met by local human rights activists. They were provided with housing and food. Mukhamedyarov stated that he is already receiving assistance from Bashkir activists abroad.
Mukhamedyarov will not be able to obtain a visa run: Romania is on one side, and Ukraine is on the other. Mukhamedyarov's defense team is currently considering appealing the deportation in a US court.
Source: Idel.Realii (Idel.Реалии)
This is just a small selection of his works that he presented at the Venice Biennale.
Under the pretext of park restoration, a memorial plaque located in a Ufa park was removed. It is clear that the plaque will not be returned, as Russian authorities are pursuing a policy of dismantling monuments, busts, and other cultural and historical structures dedicated to the Bashkir people.
In October 2025, the Salavat Yulaev monument, the largest equestrian monument in Europe, was torn down. Authorities promise to erect an exact replica, but the public remains skeptical and believes the monument will not be returned. Under the pretext of restoration, busts of Ahmet-Zaki Validi, the founding father of the Bashkir Republic, were removed in Temyas and Sibay, as well as a plaque on the building of the Zaki Validi National Library in Ufa. Neither the busts nor the plaque were ever returned.
The inscription on the plaque read, "In honor of the adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Republic of Bashkortostan on October 11, 1990, a stele will be erected here".
