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MOSCOW – Russian police on Sunday arrested more than 800 people who protested against the expected increase in the retirement age, said a human rights group.
The demonstrations, organized by imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny and his supporters, were a challenge for the authorities, who hoped for a strong turnout in the regional elections on Sunday.
Images of the demonstrations, which took place in over 80 cities, showed that the police sometimes used force to disperse the rallies, beating the participants with batons and training them. The authorities have declared most of the demonstrations illegal.
OVD-Info, a human rights organization monitoring detentions, said 839 people had been arrested by police in 33 cities, including some of Navalny's close associates.
Most of the detentions were held in St. Petersburg, where the authorities initially authorized a rally before returning to the decision. The Interior Ministry was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying that the police had carried out a hundred detentions in St. Petersburg and "several" in Moscow.
The proposed pension amendments, currently before Parliament, have reduced Mr Putin's popularity by 15 points. This is the most unpopular government measure since a decision in 2005 to abolish benefits from the Soviet era.
Navalny, who has been banned from state television and prevented from running against President Putin for the presidency this year, hopes to take advantage of public anger over the pension change. He planned to run the Sunday demonstration in Moscow, but a court sentenced him last month for violating the protest laws and jailed him for 30 days.
In Moscow, where the authorities rejected a demand for protest by Navalny's supporters, around 2,000 people gathered in Pushkin's central square, according to Reuters authorities and journalists.
Some chanted "Russia will be free" and "Putin is a thief". The riot police ordered them to disperse or face prosecution. Some demonstrators then walked into the center of Moscow before the riot police stopped them.
Despite the subject of the event – retirement – many participants were young.
"They stole my future life," said Katya Shomnikova, a 23-year-old protester. "We will have to correct what has been done. I want a better life for myself and my children.
After having been Modified by Mr Putin, the pension change would raise the retirement age to 65 for men and 55 to 60 for women.
