Russian Police Detain Nearly 150 Protestors, Stop Two Rallies

December 14, 2008 4:45 p.m. EST

Moscow, Russia (AHN) - Police in Moscow and St Petersburg detained about 150 protestors for holding unauthorised rallies and prevented two demonstrations by anti-government marchers on Sunday.

Police officials said that they detained protestors tried to hold an unauthorized march of dissent and provoke clashes, according to the RIA Novosti news agency.

Dozens of people were arrested in Moscow in two different places and at least 10 people were detained at St. Petersburg as police blocked 100 anti-Kremlin protesters from marching on the city's main thoroughfare.

Some of the opposition leaders, including Eduard Limonov, the head of the banned National Bolshevik Party (NBP), were among those arrested. The NBP is outlawed by a court decision for their extremist activities.

Garry Kasparov, a former world chess champion and leader of the United Civil Front, had indicated that the protestors would go ahead with the march in Moscow, despite failing to receive permission for the rally, according to the RIA Novosti.

Almost 200 opposition protesters had gathered from 40 regions of the country met at the outskirts of Moscow and launched the anti-Kremlin movement called "Solidarity".

"The rallies were held to coincide with the Decembrist uprising which took place in Imperial Russia on December 12, 1825," said RT, a Russian news agency.

The protest is aimed to "dismantle the Putin regime," according to Kasparov as he spoke to over 100 protesters ahead of the scheduled march Sunday.