Alexei Navalny's supporters carried out a protest across Russia in his support and they demanded the release of prime opponent and critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
As per reports published in BBC, over 3,000 people have been detained by the police. Although European Union and United States have demanded release of Navalny but Russia turned a Nelson's eye towards all these demands.
Police and Russian authorities had already cautioned the protesters against gathering in large numbers. Riot police had beaten and dragged away the protesters in Moscow, as per report published in BBC.
Navalny was detained after he returned to Russia from Berlin where he recovered from a nerve agent attack or a poisoning attack in Russia last August. After taking him into custody, he was charged with violating parole conditions.
Navalny alleges that it is a plot to kill him or silence hi, OVD Info is an independent Non Governmental Organization that monitors the rallies. OVD Info said that over 3,100 people had been detained and more than 1,200 of these protesters were detained in Moscow alone.
What did the protestors say?
As per data in the media, around 100 cities and towns of Russia participated in the protest and 40,000 people joined a rally in the central Moscow, according to the estimates of Reuters news agency.
It is also touted as the largest protest in the capital in almost a decade. Some protesters were heard as chanding "Freedom to Navalny" and "Putin go away!" in the city's Pushkin square.
Another protester Sergei Radchenko was quoted by BBC as saying, "I'm tired of being afraid. I haven't just turned up for myself and Navalny, but for my son because there is no future in this country."
Navalny'w wife was also detained at the rally. Meanwhile, the media watchdog Roskomnadzor in Russia threaten to fine media platforms if they don't remove the content that purportedly encourage minors to be the part of protests.
TikTok and YouTube are major platforms where protesters are sharing content. As per media reports, TikTok has deleted around 30% of the content flagged by Russian administration related to the protests while YouTube has deleted 50% of the content flagged by them.
Read More: Alexei Navalny supporters: Russian police detains protesters amid nationwide protests