Tens of thousands of Russians in dozens of cities took to the streets to protest against corruption yesterday in the largest-scale demonstrations against President Vladimir Putin in years.
Police in Moscow detained more than 700 of the 7,000 people they said thronged Tverskaya Street, Moscow’s main street, according to OVD-Info, an organisation that tracks police arrests. Among those held was Alexei Navalny, the anti-corruption activist and would-be presidential candidate who called for the rallies.
Organisers said 20,000 to 30,000 defied a police ban to take part in the demonstrations across Russia from St Petersburg in the north-west to Vladivostok in the far east.