Russian police arrest dozens at anti-Putin march in St. Petersburg News
Russian police arrest dozens at anti-Putin march in St. Petersburg

[JURIST] Russian police arrested dozens of protesters Sunday before and during a rally in St. Petersburg opposing the policies of Russian president Vladimir Putin for a second straight day. The arrests followed the detention of some 200 anti-Putin protesters [JURIST report] – including liberal United Civil Front [party website, in Russian] leader and former chess champion Garry Kasparov [official website, in Russian] – at a similar rally in Moscow on Saturday. Kasparov was fined and released late Saturday night, but did not make the trip to St. Petersburg. More than 9,000 police agents were dispatched to prevent the protest there.

The majority of the detentions Sunday were sparked by marchers attempting to break through a massed line of police resistance as the rally ended. As police infiltrated the crowds of protesters, the crowds struck back with bottles and stones. Olga Kurnosova, the St. Petersburg leader of the United Civil Front, was arrested at her home for a traffic violation on her way to attend the rally. The Washington Post has more. BBC News has additional coverage.

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