Authorities detained Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny and hundreds of his supporters on Monday, as they mounted demonstrations across the nation against government corruption.
The protests are the second mass action since March 26 called by Mr Navalny, who has announced his intention to run for President next year and has drawn a new generation to the streets through a relentless online campaign.
Over 200 people were detained in Moscow and St. Petersburg an hour into the protest, according to an NGO that tracks arrests, with Mr Navalny himself picked up by police in his building as he was headed to the event.
On central Moscow’s Tverskaya Street, a helicopter hovered overhead as riot police lined up and pushed back against the crowd, grabbing people and leading them to police vans as others shouted “Shame!”, “Putin is a thief!” The action also drew thousands to the streets in many other cities across Russia.
