Russians angered by the impending inauguration of Vladimir Putin to a new term as president have protested in scores of cities across the country — and police responded by reportedly arresting more than 1,000 of them.
Among those arrested was protest organiser Alexei Navalny, the anti-corruption campaigner who is Mr Putin’s most prominent foe.
Police seized Mr Navalny by the arms and legs and carried the thrashing activist from Moscow’s Pushkin Square, where thousands were gathered for an unauthorised protest.
Police also used batons against protesters who chanted “Putin is a thief” and “Russia will be free”.
Demonstrations under the slogan “He is not our czar” took place throughout the country, from Yakutsk in the far north east to St Petersburg and Kaliningrad on the fringes of Europe.
The protests demonstrated that Mr Navalny’s opposition, although considered beleaguered by officials and largely ignored by state-controlled television, has sizeable support in much of the country.
“I think that Putin isn’t worthy of leading this country. He has been doing it for 18 years and has done nothing good for it,” said Moscow demonstrator Dmitry Nikitenko. “He should leave for good.”
OVD-Info, an organisation that monitors political repression, said late on Saturday that at least 1,029 people had been detained at demonstrations in 19 Russian cities.
It said 574 were arrested in Moscow alone.
Moscow police said about 300 people were detained in the capital, state news agencies said, and there was no official countrywide tally.
Mr Navalny was to be charged with disobeying police, an offence that carries a sentence of up to 15 days, news reports said, though when he would face a judge was not immediately clear.
Mr Navalny has served several multi-week stretches in jail on similar charges.
In St Petersburg, police blocked off a stretch of Nevsky Prospekt as a crowd of about 1,000 marched along the renowned avenue. Video showed some demonstrators being detained.
Mr Putin is to be inaugurated for a new six-year term on Monday after winning re-election in March with 77% of the vote.
Mr Navalny had hoped to challenge him on the ballot but was blocked because of a conviction in a case that supporters regard as falsified in order to marginalise him.
Mr Navalny has called nationwide demonstrations several times in the past year, and their turnout has rattled the Kremlin.
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