REUTERS
More than 400 participants of a Moscow rally against corruption on Tverskaya Street, which municipal authorities refused to authorize, were detained by riot police, Dozhd TV reports with reference to OVD-Info media outlet.
In St. Petersburg, more than 300 participants were detained during a similar unauthorized protest on Marsovo Field, Fontanka wrote referring to its sources in the City Hall
As UNIAN reported earlier, protesters in Moscow were pepper-sprayed, while police forces were seen wearing gas masks.
In the center of Moscow, thousands of Russians chanted "Putin, Go!" "Russia without Putin," "Putin is a Thief," "Medvedev must resign," and "Freedom for Alexei Navalny." Russian opposition’s Alexei Navalny, who had initially urged Russian citizens to take to the streets against top-level corruption, was also detained in Moscow, according to his wife who tweeted the news from Navalny’s account.
On the video streamed from the scene, protesters are heard chanting “Shame” in the wake of mass detentions.
Read alsoUnsanctioned protest rally in Moscow: thousands take to the streets – The Moscow TimesTverskaya Street has been cordoned off by several rows of police forces.