Russian police arrest opposition leader, supporters during unsanctioned anti-Putin protest
Russian police forces have arrested opposition leader Alexei Navalny during unsanctioned rallies against President Vladimir Putin's fourth term.
Navalny, his ally Nikolai Lyaskin and a number of their supporters were detained upon joining an anti-Putin rally in Moscow on Saturday.
Monitoring group OVD-Info said that over 1,000 people were arrested across the country. In Moscow, an unsanctioned protest turned violent after police used tear gas to disperse the protesters.
Navalny, who was banned from competing against Putin in the March presidential election due to a fraud conviction that he claimed was politically-motivated, called on Russians to take to the streets across the country two days before the presidential inauguration.
Protests started in Russia's Far East and Siberia regions with dozens of demonstrators arrested by police, according to Navalny's team.
"Detentions were conducted in a rough manner," OVD-Info said, adding that some of those detained had sustained injuries.
Ahead of the Moscow rally, dozens of pro-Putin activists also gathered at a central square in the Russian capital where Navalny's supporters were also gathering.
Back in May 2012, similar rallies against Putin's inauguration for a third term descended into clashes and hundreds of protesters were reportedly detained.
Putin, 65, who has led Russia for almost two decades, was re-elected president for a fourth term in March with more than 76 percent of the vote.
The opposition has, however, claimed a lack of genuine competition in the election.
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