MOSCOW (AP) – Protesters gathered across Russia Sunday to support opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s call to boycott the March presidential election, and Navalny himself was arrested while walking to the Moscow demonstration.
Many of the crowds that turned out in generally frigid weather skewed sharply young, apparently reflecting growing discontent among Russians who have lived most or all of their lives under President Vladimir Putin, who came to power on New Year’s Eve 1999.
“As long as I’ve been alive, Putin has always been in. I’m tired of nothing being changed,” said 19-year-old Vlad Ivanov, one of about 1,500 protesters who assembled in St. Petersburg.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, centre, shouts slogans as he attends a rally in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. Navalny has been arrested in Moscow as protests take place across the country. (AP Photo/Evgeny Feldman)
Navalny, Putin’s most prominent foe, organized the protests to urge a boycott of Russia’s March 18 presidential election, in which Putin is sure to win a fourth term. He was wrestled to the ground and forced into a police bus as he walked toward the demonstration on Moscow’s Pushkin Square.
The anti-corruption campaigner was denied permission to be a presidential candidate because of an embezzlement conviction in a case widely seen as politically motivated.
No figures were available for how many people participated in the protests, but the turnout was clearly smaller than for previous rallies Navalny organized. The size and scope of the earlier protests, which took place last year in provincial cities regarded as the center of Putin’s support, rattled the Kremlin.
Protests were reported in dozens of cities, from the Pacific Coast to the Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad. Navalny’s web page showed a small group of protesters in remote Yakutsk, where it was minus 45 Celsius (minus 49 Fahrenheit).
A crowd that police estimated at 1,000 people, but appeared larger, assembled in central Pushkin Square, brandishing placards reading “They’ve stolen the election from us” and “Elections without Navalny are fake.”
After that gathering dispersed, columns of protesters took off in several directions. One group skirted the Kremlin, then headed down the Novy Arbat, a prime shopping and entertainment area, and to the riverside government headquarters building informally called the Russian White House.
Shouting “Putin is a thief,” some of the protesters threw handfuls of snow through the high spiked fence surrounding the building. Police did not interfere, a contrast to their typically quick and harsh responses to unauthorized gatherings.
The OVD-Info organization, which monitors political repression, reported that 257 people were arrested in the demonstrations throughout the country.
Hours before the Moscow protest, police raided Navalny’s headquarters, where there is a studio for live video transmissions. One broadcaster on the stream said police apparently were using a power grinder tool to try to get into the studio.
The anchors hosting the feed reported that police said they had come because of an alleged bomb threat.
One anchor, Dmitri Nizovtsev, was detained by police, according to video broadcast from the headquarters. Navalny’s Moscow coordinator, Nikolai Lyaskin, also was detained Sunday, the Interfax news agency quoted him as saying.
Several hundred demonstrators assembled in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok, complaining both of Putin’s rule and of Navalny’s exclusion from the March 18 presidential election.
“They took these elections away from us, they took away our votes. Our candidate was not allowed to run,” said Vladivostok demonstrator Dmitri Kutyaev.
Navalny rose to prominence with detailed reports about corruption among top Russian officials, which he popularized on social media to circumvent state control of television.
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Irina Titova in St. Petersburg contributed to this report.
A demonstrator with a Russian national flag wrapped in his shoulders shouts slogans during a rally in Vladivostok, Russia, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. Opposition politician Alexey Navalny calls for nationwide protests following Russia’s Central Election Commission’s decision to ban his presidential candidacy. (AP Photo/Aleksander Khitrov)
Demonstrators shout slogans holding a poster which reads “Elections without me! Strike.” during a rally in Vladivostok, Russia, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. Opposition politician Alexey Navalny calls for nationwide protests following Russia’s Central Election Commission’s decision to ban his presidential candidacy. (AP Photo/Aleksander Khitrov)
A demonstrator holds a poster which reads “I have no one to choose!! Strike.” during a rally in Vladivostok, Russia, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny calls for nationwide protests following Russia’s Central Election Commission’s decision to ban his presidential candidacy. (AP Photo/Aleksander Khitrov)
Demonstrators shout slogans with posters which read “I do not recognize Putin’s election” and “Putin devours the future of Russia” during a rally in Vladivostok, Russia, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny calls for nationwide protests following Russia’s Central Election Commission’s decision to ban his presidential candidacy. (AP Photo/Aleksander Khitrov)
Police guard outside the office of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Moscow, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. Opposition politician Alexey Navalny calls for nationwide protests following Russia’s Central Election Commission’s decision to ban his presidential candidacy. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
Police guard outside the office of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Moscow, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. Opposition politician Alexey Navalny calls for nationwide protests following Russia’s Central Election Commission’s decision to ban his presidential candidacy. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, centre, is detained by police officers in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. Opposition politician Alexey Navalny calls for nationwide protests following Russia’s Central Election Commission’s decision to ban his presidential candidacy. (AP Photo/Evgeny Feldman)
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in the background, is detained by police officers in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. Opposition politician Alexey Navalny calls for nationwide protests following Russia’s Central Election Commission’s decision to ban his presidential candidacy. (AP Photo/Evgeny Feldman)
A protester waves a Russian flag during a rally in Moscow, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. Opposition politician Alexey Navalny calls for nationwide protests following Russia’s Central Election Commission’s decision to ban his presidential candidacy. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
People gather as police stand next to the protesters during a rally in Moscow, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. Opposition politician Alexey Navalny calls for nationwide protests following Russia’s Central Election Commission’s decision to ban his presidential candidacy. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
Young protesters gather during a rally at Pushkin square in Moscow, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. Opposition politician Alexey Navalny calls for nationwide protests following Russia’s Central Election Commission’s decision to ban his presidential candidacy. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
A protester waves a Russian flag during a rally at Pushkin square in Moscow, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. Opposition politician Alexey Navalny calls for nationwide protests following Russia’s Central Election Commission’s decision to ban his presidential candidacy. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
Protesters gather during a rally at Pushkin square in Moscow, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. Opposition politician Alexey Navalny calls for nationwide protests following Russia’s Central Election Commission’s decision to ban his presidential candidacy. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
Policemen guard outside a metro station before a rally in Moscow, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. Opposition politician Alexey Navalny calls for nationwide protests following Russia’s Central Election Commission’s decision to ban his presidential candidacy. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
Young protesters hold a Russian flag during a rally at Pushkin square in Moscow, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. Opposition politician Alexey Navalny calls for nationwide protests following Russia’s Central Election Commission’s decision to ban his presidential candidacy. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
Protesters shout slogans during a rally in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. Opposition politician Alexey Navalny calls for nationwide protests following Russia’s Central Election Commission’s decision to ban his presidential candidacy in the March 18 election. (AP Photo/Andrew Lubimov)
Young protesters attend a rally in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. Opposition politician Alexey Navalny calls for nationwide protests following Russia’s Central Election Commission’s decision to ban his presidential candidacy in the upcoming March 18 elections. (AP Photo/Andrew Lubimov)
Protesters gather during a rally in Moscow, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018 against Russia’s Central Election Commission’s decision to ban the opposition leader Alexei Navalny presidential candidacy. Navalny has been arrested in Moscow as protests demonstrations called by him took place across the country. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
Protesters attend a rally in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been arrested in Moscow as protest demonstrations called by him took place across the country. He has called on supporters to continue the demonstrations despite his arrest Sunday. (AP Photo/Andrew Lubimov)
Protesters shout slogans during a rally in Moscow, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018 against Russia’s Central Election Commission’s decision to ban the opposition leader Alexei Navalny presidential candidacy. Navalny has been arrested in Moscow as protests demonstrations called by him took place across the country. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
A protester offers a flower at a policeman during a rally in Moscow, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018 against Russia’s Central Election Commission’s decision to ban the opposition leader Alexei Navalny presidential candidacy. Navalny has been arrested in Moscow as protests demonstrations called by him took place across the country. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
Protesters shout slogans during a rally in Moscow, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018 against Russia’s Central Election Commission’s decision to ban the opposition leader Alexei Navalny presidential candidacy. Navalny has been arrested in Moscow as protests demonstrations called by him took place across the country. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
Protesters with Russian flags gather during a rally at Pushkin square in Moscow, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018 against Russia’s Central Election Commission’s decision to ban the opposition leader Alexei Navalny presidential candidacy. Navalny has been arrested in Moscow as protests demonstrations called by him took place across the country. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Young protesters hold a Russian flag as others hold up banners, one at center reads: “Two terms are the Constitutional Limit”, during a rally at Pushkin square in Moscow, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018. Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been arrested in Moscow as protest demonstrations called by him took place across the country. He has called on supporters to continue the demonstrations despite his arrest Sunday. (AP Photo/Andrew Lubimov)
A protester holds up flowers during a rally in Moscow, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018 against Russia’s Central Election Commission’s decision to ban the opposition leader Alexei Navalny presidential candidacy. Navalny has been arrested in Moscow as protests demonstrations called by him took place across the country. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
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