Police officers detained some 70 protesters during an opposition rally on Triumfalnaya Square in downtown Moscow.
Police officers detained some 70 protesters during an opposition rally on Triumfalnaya Square in downtown Moscow.
Russian opposition groups rally on Triumfalnaya Square on the last day of each month that has 31 days in defense of their right to freedom of assembly, as enshrined in Article 31 of the Russian Constitution.
The Triumfalnaya Square rally was not sanctioned by the authorities.
The crowd, many of whom were chanting "Freedom! Freedom!" was pushed back by riot police.
Pyotr Biryukov, an official spokesman for the Moscow police department, said about 400 people gathered for the event, including 300 journalists.
A number of prominent opposition leaders, including Other Russia opposition party leader Eduard Limonov, Left Front opposition movement leader Konstantin Kosyakin and co-chairman of the Solidarity opposition movement Boris Nemtsov, have been taken into custody.
The authorities regularly suggest alternative venues for protest rallies, but these are usually rejected by the opposition.
