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MOSCOW – The fate of more than 1,000 people arrested at anti-government protests nationwide was still unclear on Monday, a day after the Russians went to the polls in regional elections.
According to OVD-Info, a group that monitors police detentions, some 1,018 people were detained in 19 cities on Sunday, the majority being held in St. Petersburg, Russia's second largest city. In total, 452 people were detained on the spot, while in Moscow, 43 people were detained after the authorities refused a request for a rally, the group said. The website crashed for a moment on Monday.
Reports in the local press and social media described police using clubs against protests involving older people and children.
The website of the Russian Ministry of the Interior has not confirmed the number of detentions, but a senior official of the ministry said that about a hundred people were detained in St. Petersburg and that "a few people "were detained in Moscow for breaking the law. Interfax agency.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said demonstrations were not allowed and authorities acted according to the law. Speaking during a conference call with reporters, Peskov said several hooligans had attacked officers and that miners had been prompted to join the protests.
The protests, announced by local media in more than 80 cities, were called by anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny to protest the government's plan to raise the retirement age of workers. The issue galvanized citizens and initially destroyed the popularity of President Vladimir Putin, who last month sought to quell discontent by proposing amendments to dilute the proposal.
Mr Navalny, who is based in Moscow and the most prominent public enemy of Mr Putin, did not attend any rallies as he is serving a 30-day prison sentence for an unconfirmed protest reform issue .
Police authorities in Moscow reported that one person had been arrested for assaulting a police officer and that a criminal case had been opened against that person, according to later reports in local media.
"Those who provoked the miners were perfectly aware of the legal consequences of their action," Peskov said. Hitting a police officer is "punishable by law," he said.
The demonstrations took place as people went to the polls to select governors from 22 regions, including the Russian capital. Analysts said that the election results were run in advance. since most of the candidates were Mr. Putin's loyalists or were appointed by the city councils under the influence of the Kremlin.
The outgoing mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, was reelected with 70% of the vote, according to the Russian news agency TASS. His closest opponent won 11% of the votes of the 30% of the 7.2 million registered voters in Moscow who went to the polls, the news agency reported.
Write to Ann M. Simmons at [email protected]
