EchoVibe

Footage has gone viral of what appears to be a shootout between Russian law enforcement officers and a group of illegal jade miners.

Russia's Ministry of Internal Affairs said the fracas took place during a raid on the Ospinsky jade deposit in Buryatia, a Siberian region bordering Mongolia.

Baza was among the Russian media outlets that reported on Telegram that a group of around 40 people who had been "engaged in illegal jade mining" had opened fire and threw stones at police officers who were trying to arrest them.

Almost all of the jade mined in Buryatia without processing is exported to China, according to news outlet Infpol. It said that China used to purchase the gemstone from Myanmar but its current unstable political situation had reduced supplies from there to almost zero.

Baza said a police officer had filmed the incident, which took place on July 26. The video gives a helmet-cam view of the shootout in which shots can be heard as the officers advance.

The officer filming the scene fires his weapon and then moves forward with his comrades as gunfire and shout echo can be heard in a wooded and mountainous landscape. Breathing heavily, the unnamed officer reloads and shouts "stay where you are."

He can be heard shouting several times, "everyone lie on the ground" and "I will shoot." The group is told to surrender and the Telegram channel of news outlet Astra noted than one voice can be heard saying "go to Ukraine, you can shoot there."

The footage then shows the miners up close next to all-terrain vehicles still shouting and opposing their arrest. The video ends with one of the men being shot.

During the altercation, two people were injured, around 30 were detained and more than 175 pounds of jade was seized, according to Russian reports.

Astra said that the miners had told investigators that they were fired upon first. However, five of those arrested have faced criminal charges of attacking security forces, independent news outlet Meduza reported.

As of Monday, a video of the incident shared on X (formerly Twitter), which Newsweek has not been able to verify, and which some viewers may find upsetting, had received 621,000 views.

Journalist Sergey Smolyaninov told Russian news outlet BFM that locals in Buryatia with few ways to financially support themselves mined jade as a way of making ends meet.

Newsweek has contacted Russia's Internal Affairs Ministry for comment.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

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