Updated on
Summary
Police arrested anti-Kremlin opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in Moscow and at least 95 others at demonstrations in cities across Russia against restrictions on freedom of assembly. In St. Petersburg, Russia's second largest city, 60 of about 200 people were arrested in what was one of the most violent recent crackdowns on protesters. Opposition activists traditionally stage demonstrations on the 31st day of those months that have 31 days to defend article 31 of the constitution, which guarantees the right to public gathering. Activists say this gives them the right to hold protests without prior permission, which is regularly denied to opposition groups. Police habitually break up rallies not approved by the authorities.In Moscow, along with Nemtsov -- a fierce critic of Russia's ruling elite -- the police arrested Left Front opposition leader Sergei Udaltsov and at least 35 others.According to a recent poll by the Levada Centre polling service, only a quarter of Russians have heard of the Article 31 rallies. On Saturday, Moscow's unsanctioned protesters disappeared in a crowd of several hundred people that gathered in Triumfalnaya Square in the city's centre to watch a car and motorcycle show. The crowd paid little attention to the demonstration.
