Among those arrested was protest organizer Alexei Navalny, the anti-corruption campaigner who is Putin’s most prominent foe. Police seized Navalny by the arms and legs and carried the thrashing activist from Moscow’s Pushkin Square, where thousands were gathered for an unauthorized protest. “He should leave for good.”OVD-Info, an organization that monitors political repression, said late Saturday that at least 1,607 people had been detained at demonstrations in 20 Russian cities. “Let my son go!” Iraida Nikolaeva screamed, running after police in Moscow when they detained her son. Navalny has called nationwide demonstrations several times in the past year, and their turnout has rattled the Kremlin.

Source: National Post May 05, 2018 18:56 UTC