Anti-putin Protests

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and more than 1,000 anti-Kremlin activists were detained by police on Saturday during street protests against Vladimir Putin ahead of his inauguration for a fourth term as president.

Russian police on Sunday detained opposition leader Alexei Navalny at a rally in Moscow which he had called to protest upcoming polls expected to extend Vladimir Putin's Kremlin term to 2024.

An interior ministry official says 25 football fans in Belarus have been detained after a match where they sang chants insulting Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russian police detained dozens of protesters on Monday outside a Moscow courthouse where a judge was expected to sentence eight defendants convicted of attacking police at a 2012 demonstration against President Vladimir Putin.

Thousands of Russian opposition activists marched through Moscow decrying President Vladimir Putin's authoritarian rule and calling for the release of people they consider political prisoners.

Two women from punk band Pussy Riot sentenced to jail for an anti-Putin protest in a Moscow cathedral face harsh, Soviet-style prison camps where their lives may be in danger due to a lack of medicine and no hot water amid sub-zero winter temperatures, according to a recently released band member.

Russian investigators opened criminal proceedings against a prominent leader of protests against President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, saying a documentary on a pro-Kremlin TV channel showed evidence Sergei Udaltsov had plotted mass disorder.

Thousands marched through Moscow on Saturday to protest against the rule of Vladimir Putin in a test of the opposition's challenge to the Russian president four months after his inauguration.

Russian police searched opposition leaders' homes on Monday in morning raids intended to disrupt plans for a protest rally against President Vladimir Putin's rule and show he has lost patience with demonstrations that are undermining his authority.

Moscow police on Tuesday detained two prominent leaders of the protest movement against newly-inaugurated President Vladimir Putin after they staged an unusual night-time sit-in close to the Kremlin.

Russian police detained more than 100 people on Sunday, including leaders of the largest protest movement against Vladimir Putin's 12-year rule, as hundreds rallied against him weeks after his re-election to the presidency.

Russian police on Saturday arrested dozens of people as they broke up opposition rallies in Saint Petersburg and in Nizhny Novgorod on the Volga, an AFP correspondent and activists said.

Thousands of people holding hands formed a 16-kilometer (10-mile) human chain encircling central Moscow on Sunday in the latest protest against Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Moscow drivers flying white balloons and ribbons prepared to circle the Kremlin on Sunday in protest against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's likely return as president in March 4 polls.

Tens of thousands of Russians jammed a Moscow avenue to demand free elections and an end to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's 12-year rule, in the largest show of public outrage since the protests 20 years ago that brought down the Soviet Union. Gone was the political apathy of recent years as many shouted "We are the Power!"

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and more than 1,000 anti-Kremlin activists were detained by police on Saturday during street protests against Vladimir Putin ahead of his inauguration for a fourth term as president.

Russian police on Sunday detained opposition leader Alexei Navalny at a rally in Moscow which he had called to protest upcoming polls expected to extend Vladimir Putin's Kremlin term to 2024.

An interior ministry official says 25 football fans in Belarus have been detained after a match where they sang chants insulting Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russian police detained dozens of protesters on Monday outside a Moscow courthouse where a judge was expected to sentence eight defendants convicted of attacking police at a 2012 demonstration against President Vladimir Putin.

Thousands of Russian opposition activists marched through Moscow decrying President Vladimir Putin's authoritarian rule and calling for the release of people they consider political prisoners.

Two women from punk band Pussy Riot sentenced to jail for an anti-Putin protest in a Moscow cathedral face harsh, Soviet-style prison camps where their lives may be in danger due to a lack of medicine and no hot water amid sub-zero winter temperatures, according to a recently released band member.

Russian investigators opened criminal proceedings against a prominent leader of protests against President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, saying a documentary on a pro-Kremlin TV channel showed evidence Sergei Udaltsov had plotted mass disorder.

Thousands marched through Moscow on Saturday to protest against the rule of Vladimir Putin in a test of the opposition's challenge to the Russian president four months after his inauguration.

Russian police searched opposition leaders' homes on Monday in morning raids intended to disrupt plans for a protest rally against President Vladimir Putin's rule and show he has lost patience with demonstrations that are undermining his authority.

Moscow police on Tuesday detained two prominent leaders of the protest movement against newly-inaugurated President Vladimir Putin after they staged an unusual night-time sit-in close to the Kremlin.

Russian police detained more than 100 people on Sunday, including leaders of the largest protest movement against Vladimir Putin's 12-year rule, as hundreds rallied against him weeks after his re-election to the presidency.

Russian police on Saturday arrested dozens of people as they broke up opposition rallies in Saint Petersburg and in Nizhny Novgorod on the Volga, an AFP correspondent and activists said.

Thousands of people holding hands formed a 16-kilometer (10-mile) human chain encircling central Moscow on Sunday in the latest protest against Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Moscow drivers flying white balloons and ribbons prepared to circle the Kremlin on Sunday in protest against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's likely return as president in March 4 polls.

Tens of thousands of Russians jammed a Moscow avenue to demand free elections and an end to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's 12-year rule, in the largest show of public outrage since the protests 20 years ago that brought down the Soviet Union. Gone was the political apathy of recent years as many shouted "We are the Power!"