Russia Anti-Graft Protests Draw Biggest Crowds Since 2012
- Hundreds detained in unsanctioned rallies in major cities
- Activist leader Navalny held in Moscow as he joined protest
Protesters walk along Moscow's Tverskaya street during an unauthorised anti-corruption rally on March 26.
Photographer: Vasily Maximov/AFP via Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Thousands of people gathered in Moscow and other major Russian cities on Sunday, heeding a call by opposition leader Alexei Navalny to protest against official corruption in what appeared to be some of the largest anti-government demonstrations in the last five years.
Police detained more than 700 protesters in Moscow, including Navalny, 40, who was stopped shortly after arriving on Tverskaya Street in the capital’s downtown, his spokeswoman said on Twitter. He was ordered held overnight pending arraignment, she said later.