MOSCOW — Russian police detained opposition leader Alexei Navalny in central Moscow on Sunday at a rally Navalny had called to protest corruption.

A Reuters reporter saw police detain Navalny on Moscow's Tverskaya Street and put him in a police truck. Hundreds of opposition protesters crowded around the police van and tried to prevent it from taking him away.

A tweet from Navalny's account after the incident said: "Guys, I'm all right. Don't try to break me out. Go on walking down the Tverskaya. Our topic today is fight against corruption."

Russian protesters denouncing government corruption had gathered across Russia, and some scuffled with police.

The protests Sunday appear to be one of the largest coordinated outpourings of dissatisfaction since the 2011-12 demonstrations following a fraud-tainted parliamentary election.

The demonstrations, driven by Navalny, focus on his recent claims that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has amassed a collection of mansions, yachts and vineyards.

Moscow police told the TASS news agency that the number of people detained was "more than 500." Police said those detained will face "administrative prosecution," or fines and arrests.

But the final tally of those detained in Moscow was 700, according to the human rights monitoring group OVD-Info.

Navalny's press secretary, Kira Yarmush, said on Twitter that people at his office had been detained and that Leonid Volkov, the head of the office and co-founder of Navalny's unregistered Party of Progress, was facing extremism charges.

Some demonstrators have showed up with their faces painted green, a reference to a recent attack on Navalny when an assailant threw a green antiseptic liquid onto his face.

It isn't the first time Navalny has been in trouble with the police. Just last month, he was convicted of embezzling 16 million rubles ($270,000) in 2009.

At the time, Navalny said the conviction was an effort to stop him from challenging President Vladimir Putin's party in coming elections. People with criminal convictions are ineligible to run for office in Russia. </s> MOSCOW (AP) - Police in Russia's second-largest city have arrested scores of people who gathered in a park in St. Petersburg's center for an unsanctioned opposition protest.

An Associated Press reporter saw about 50 protesters seized by police in the gathering at Mars Field.

 The protest Monday was part of a day of demonstrations throughout Russia spearheaded by Alexei Navalny, the anti-corruption campaigner who has emerged as Russia's most prominent opposition figure and who has announced he intends to run for president next year.

As police detained demonstrators, hundreds of others shouted slogans including "Putin is a thief" and "Shame!"

Navalny himself was arrested Monday afternoon outside his home in Moscow as he headed for an unsanctioned protest rally. Authorities had given permission for the rally, but Navalny late Sunday called for the location to change to one of Moscow's main avenues. He said interference had prevented contractors from building a stage at the agreed venue.

Navalny's wife, Yulia, said on his Twitter feed that he was arrested about a half-hour before the demonstration was to begin. There was no immediate statement from police.

A spokeswoman for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny says electricity has been cut at Navalny's offices in Moscow.

Kira Yarmysh tweeted the information shortly after Navalny was reportedly arrested outside his Moscow home while on his way to an unsanctioned protest demonstration.

 Navalny's Fund for Fighting Corruption had been providing updates on protests throughout the country Monday.

Russian police say Navalny has been arrested on charges of that could bring him 15 days in jail.

In a statement reported by state news agency Tass, police said Navalny would be charged with failure to follow police orders and violation of public order.

Although city authorities had agreed to a location for the Moscow protest, Navalny called for it to be moved to Tverskaya Street, one of Moscow's main thoroughfares. He said contractors hired to build a stage at the agreed-upon venue could not do their work after apparently coming under official pressure.

Tverskaya, known in Soviet times as Gorky Street, was closed off to traffic on Monday for an extensive commemoration of the national holiday Russia Day, including people dressed in historical Russian costumes.

After the change, Moscow police warned that "any provocative actions from the protesters' side will be considered a threat to public order and will be immediately suppressed."

A regional security official, Vladimir Chernikov, told Ekho Moskvy radio that police would not interfere with demonstrators on the street — as long as they did not carry placards or shout slogans.

More than 1,000 protesters were arrested at a similar rally March 26.

The protests in March took place in scores of cities across the country, the largest show of discontent in years and a challenge to President Vladimir Putin's dominance of the country.

The Kremlin has long sought to cast the opposition as a phenomenon of a privileged, Westernized urban elite out of touch with people in Russia's far-flung regions. But Monday's protests could demonstrate that it has significant support throughout the vast country.

Navalny's website reported Monday that protests were held in more than a half-dozen cities in the Far East, including the major Pacific ports of Vladivostok and Khabarovsk and in Siberia's Barnaul. Photos on the website suggested turnouts of hundreds at the rallies.

Eleven demonstrators were arrested in Vladivostok, according to OVD-Info, a website that monitors political repressions.

Navalny has become the most prominent figure in an opposition that has been troubled by factional disputes. He focuses on corruption issues and has attracted a wide following through savvy use of internet video. His report on alleged corruption connected to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was the focus of the March protests.

Navalny has announced his candidacy for the presidential election in 2018. He was jailed for 15 days after the March protests. In April, he suffered damage to one eye after an attacker doused his face with a green antiseptic liquid. </s> Update 12.10pm: 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.

He said on Twitter: "They have detained me. This doesn't mean anything ... you didn't come out for me, but for your future."

Protests ranging from a few dozen to several hundred people were reported throughout the country.

Mr Navalny is calling for a boycott of the March 18 presidential election in which President Vladimir Putin is seeking a fourth term.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, centre, is detained by police officers in Moscow. Photo: AP Photo/Evgeny Feldman

Russia police have raided the Moscow office of opposition leader Alexei Navalny as demonstrations calling for a boycott of Russia’s presidential election take place across the country.

A video stream on Sunday morning from Mr Navalny’s headquarters showed police entering the office.

Police guard outside the office of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Moscow. Photos: AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin

One broadcaster on the stream said police apparently were using a grinder to try to get access to the broadcast studio.

The anchors said police say they had come because of a bomb threat.

Mr Navalny, who has been blocked from running in Russia’s March 18 presidential election, called for nationwide protests on Sunday.

Sizeable gatherings have been reported in the Far East and Siberia, including Vladivostok, and more are set for Moscow and St Petersburg in the afternoon. </s> Police detained Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny at the entrance of his home on Monday, just before an unsanctioned rally he was going to hold in central Moscow, but the protest will still go ahead, his wife said on Twitter.

Electricity in Navalny's office was switched off, his spokeswoman said in a separate Twitter message. A live Internet feed run from Navalny's office went off air. </s> Police officers detain anti-corruption campaigner and opposition figure Alexei Navalny during a rally in Moscow, Russia, March 26, 2017. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian police detained opposition leader Alexei Navalny in central Moscow on Sunday at a rally which Navalny had called to protest against corruption.

A Reuters reporter saw police detain Navalny on Moscow’s Tverskaya Street and put him in a police truck. Hundreds of opposition protesters crowded around the police van and tried to prevent it from taking Navalny away. </s> Russian leading opposition figure Alexei Navalny meets with his supporters as part of his presidential election campaign rally in Tula, Russia, May 27, 2017. Courtesy of Evgeny Feldman/THIS IS NAVALNY Project/Handout via REUTERS

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Police detained Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny at the entrance of his home on Monday, just before an unsanctioned rally he was going to hold in central Moscow, but the protest will still go ahead, his wife said on Twitter.

Electricity in Navalny’s office was switched off, his spokeswoman said in a separate Twitter message. A live Internet feed run from Navalny’s office went off air. </s> MOSCOW: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was detained during a weekend protest on the eve of Vladimir Putin's inauguration for a fourth term, has been released and faces a court hearing next week, his lawyer said Sunday (May 6).

The charismatic 41-year-old politician, who was barred from challenging Putin in March's presidential election, had called on Russians to stage rallies across the country on Saturday under the slogan "Not our Tsar".

Nearly 1,600 protesters were detained in 27 cities across Russia, according to OVD-Info, an independent monitor that tracks arrests.

Navalny, who was grabbed by police and carried away by his arms and legs shortly after he appeared in Moscow's packed Pushkin Square, was released shortly after midnight, he said.

"It appears they received an order 'do not put him behind bars before the inauguration'," Navalny said on Twitter, referring to the Moscow authorities.

He added that he was accused of organising an unsanctioned rally and resisting police.

Navalny's lawyer Veronika Polyakova told AFP on Sunday that a Moscow court would convene next Friday to hear his case.

The hearing will come after Putin's planned swearing-in ceremony on Monday.

In January, Navalny was also detained over an unauthorised rally and was formally charged then released.

He had faced up to 30 days in jail and said at the time that the authorities wanted to keep him in jail on election day to prevent him from holding rallies -- but a planned court hearing was abruptly cancelled.

The anti-corruption blogger has faced a string of administrative and criminal charges that he and his supporters see as politically motivated since he became the leading opposition figure campaigning against Putin's rule at mass demonstrations in 2011 and 2012. </s> Alexei Navalny posted a picture of himself in a van with police after he was detained - Alexei Navalny/Instagram

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been charged with an administrative offence that could put him in jail when Vladimir Putin stands for re-election on March 18.

Mr Navalny said on Twitter on Thursday afternoon that police had taken him into custody as he was coming out of a dentist's office. He posted a photograph of himself in a van with police officers.

He later tweeted that he had been charged with illegally organising a public demonstration, an administrative violation that carries a potential 30-day jail sentence for repeat offenders like Mr Navalny, and released.

Moscow police said in a statement that they detained Mr Navalny to inform him of the allegations against him, as he had not responded to a previous request to appear.

The anti-corruption activist has been holding campaign rallies and protests around Russia over the past year, but was barred in December from running against Vladimir Putin in the election due to a politicised embezzlement conviction against him.

Since then, he has been calling for a voter boycott on March 18. Although Mr Putin is expected to easily win given his stable popularity, the Kremlin fears an embarrassingly low turnout for the dull election.

Mr Navalny was detained at a electoral boycott rally on January 28, but police later released him without charges. He has said this was so he could be detained again closer to the election, since the kind of administrative arrest he has been sentenced to in the past can only last 30 days.

“If they would jail me on 28 January, I would walk free on 28 February. But Putin wants me to be isolated right before the election, and preferably during the election,” he said.

Earlier this month, investigators questioned Mr Navalny about allegedly kicking one of the police officers who were filmed tackling him to the ground at the January 28 protest.

Mr Navalny's campaign manager Leonid Volkov was detained in a Moscow airport on Thursday morning on his way to speak at a Navalny headquarters in the city of Ufa. He faces similar charges of illegally organising a demonstration, Moscow police said on Thursday. </s> MOSCOW: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was detained during a weekend protest on the eve of Vladimir Putin's inauguration for a fourth term, has been released and faces a court hearing next week, his lawyer said Sunday.

The charismatic 41-year-old politician, who was barred from challenging Putin in March's presidential election, had called on Russians to stage rallies across the country on Saturday under the slogan "Not our Tsar".

Nearly 1,600 protesters were detained in 27 cities across Russia, according to OVD-Info, an independent monitor that tracks arrests.

Navalny, who was grabbed by police and carried away by his arms and legs shortly after he appeared in Moscow's packed Pushkin Square, was released shortly after midnight, he said.

"It appears they received an order 'do not put him behind bars before the inauguration'," Navalny said on Twitter, referring to the Moscow authorities.

He added that he was accused of organising an unsanctioned rally and resisting police.

Navalny's lawyer Veronika Polyakova told AFP on Sunday that a Moscow court would convene next Friday to hear his case.

The hearing will come after Putin's planned swearing-in ceremony on Monday.

In January, Navalny was also detained over an unauthorised rally and was formally charged then released.

He had faced up to 30 days in jail and said at the time that the authorities wanted to keep him in jail on election day to prevent him from holding rallies -- but a planned court hearing was abruptly cancelled.

The anti-corruption blogger has faced a string of administrative and criminal charges that he and his supporters see as politically motivated since he became the leading opposition figure campaigning against Putin's rule at mass demonstrations in 2011 and 2012.
Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny is arrested by police at a protest rally in Moscow. His arrest comes shortly after police raid the headquarters of his unregistered Progress Party in an apparent attempt to disrupt online broadcasts of opposition rallies against Vladimir Putin, while police say they were looking for a bomb. Navalny is released from police custody without charge late Sunday but needs to appear in court later.