 Bashkir's fighting in Ukraine may return becoming an independence factor. How will the protests that erupted in Bashkortostan affect the imperial myth of Russia? The Charter 97 website spoke about this with Ukrainian political scientist, expert at the Ukrainian Centre for Belarusian Communications, Maxim Pleshko. Before talking about the imperial myth, as the French philosopher Rene Descartes said, let's define the concepts and half the disagreements will disappear by themselves. From the point of view of ethno-political science, the Russian Federation is a pure empire that has conquered hundreds of different peoples. These peoples are at different stages of their ethno-national and political development. Maxim Pleshko said, Bashkortostan and the Bashkirs are one of the most united. Developed peoples with a certain political tradition, this republic had broad autonomy. The post of president economic independence. Bashkortostan has oil resources and oil refineries. With Putin coming to power, centralization occurred. Roshneft, Absurd Bashneft, rights were limited. The post of president was abolished and was called the head of the republic, he added. He said that Bashkir units who are for independence are also fighting on the side of Ukraine. It is clear that those Bashkirs who today are fighting on the side of Russia against Ukraine when the centre weakens and a national question arises will stand for their people, the state, and will be a factor in new independence. The Bashkirs have every reason to be independent and there are many such peoples in the Russian Federation, he added.