Police arrested opposition leader Boris Nemtsov and at least 95 others on Saturday in an occasionally violent crackdown on demonstrations across Russia against restrictions on freedom of assembly.
In St. Petersburg, 60 of about 200 people were detained in what witnesses said was one of the most violent recent crackdowns on protesters. Some of the detained had bloody noses, while others had their heads beaten against police buses.
"Putin is the butcher of freedom," protesters shouted as the detainees were taken away, directing their anger at Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Opposition activists for the past year have staged demonstrations on the 31st day of those months that have 31 days to defend Article 31 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to public gathering.
Activists say this gives them the right to hold protests without prior permission, which is regularly denied to opposition groups. Police habitually break up rallies not approved by the authorities.
In Moscow, police detained Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister who leads the Solidarity movement, as well as Left Front leader Sergei Udaltsov and at least 35 others.
Mikhail Schneider, executive secretary of Solidarity, said the protests were intended to promote democracy. "We're here because the government has broken the Constitution," he said. "Pay greater attention because people are lying to you about democracy in Russia".
Only a quarter of Russians have heard of the Article 31 rallies, according to a recent poll by the independent Levada Center.
On Saturday, Moscow's unsanctioned protesters disappeared in a crowd of several hundred people who gathered on Triumfalnaya Ploshchad near the Mayakovskaya metro station to watch a car and motorcycle show.
The crowd paid little attention to the demonstration. "I'm here for the show, the demonstration doesn't interest me," said one young racing fan who declined to give his name.
The Moscow Times
