CNN —Riot police fired tear gas, flash grenades and used batons to disperse demonstrators in Russia’s Bashkortostan region after a local activist was sentenced on Wednesday to four years in prison. Some 20 people have been detained by police, according to OVD-Info, an independent Russian protest monitoring group. Thousands of demonstrators gathered outside a public building in the remote town of Baymak, with some waving the blue, white and green flag of Bashkortostan region, which neighbors Kazakhstan. Protesters were heard to cry "shame" at police officers as they tried to disperse the crowds with tear gas. In another, protesters were seen throwing snowballs at police holding riot shields.

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Persons: Alsynov, ” Organizations: CNN — Riot, Novosti, Bashkortostan’s Ministry, Internal Affairs, CNN, Reuters, OVD, Tatars Locations: Russia’s Bashkortostan, Russia, Baymak, Bashkortostan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine