Police arrested more than 500 people as they gathered in Moscow on Saturday to demand fair local elections, the latest in a wave of protests after authorities blocked opposition candidates from the ballot paper. The demonstration came a week after the capital’s biggest protest in years, when some 22,000 marchers called on officials to reverse rulings and allow opposition activists to stand for the city council in September. Since then investigators have raided the homes and headquarters of several disqualified candidates, while top Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was jailed for 30 days for calling the fresh protest. </s> People with national flags and various political parties flags gather during a protest in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2019. Masses of people gathered in central Moscow to demand that opposition candidates be included on ballots for an upcoming city parliament election in September. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

MOSCOW (AP) — Tens of thousands of people rallied in central Moscow for the third consecutive weekend to protest the exclusion of opposition and independent candidates from the Russian capital’s city council ballot.

The protest on Saturday appeared to have by far the largest turnout of the recent rallies over an issue tapping strong dissatisfaction with Russia’s tightly controlled politics.

A group that monitors attendance of public meetings, Beliye Schetchik, said it counted about 40,000 people at the demonstration; a police estimate put the crowd at 20,000.

Unlike the previous two protests, which saw sometimes violent police crackdowns and thousands of arrests combined, the one on Saturday was sanctioned by city authorities.

Some opposition figures called for an unauthorized march to follow the permitted rally.

Police on Saturday detained Lyubov Sobol, one of the city council candidates denied a place on the ballot and a spearhead of the election protest.

A video on Sobol’s Twitter feed showed officers breaking into her office as she demanded an explanation from them.

Small related protests also were reported in several Siberian cities on Saturday. </s> Aug. 10 (UPI) -- About 50,000 took to the streets of Moscow to demonstrate for fair elections in the Russian's capital's largest protest in years.

The protesters, who obtained a permit prior to the demonstration, demanded that opposition candidates banned from City Council elections be returned to the ballot and called for authorities to release demonstrators detained by authorities during previous rallies.

The protest, the largest since crowds of people took to the streets to mourn slain opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in 2015, coincided with similar demonstrations of solidarity in cities across the country.

OVD Info, a police monitoring group, said at least 275 opposition protesters were detained across the country Saturday, including 178 in Moscow.

Several people were detained after the end of the sanctioned protest, when crowds marched toward a government building.

The demonstration was the latest since earlier in the summer, when officials announced multiple opposition candidates would not be allowed on the Moscow City Council election ballot. Officials alleged the candidates' applications contained faked signatures.

Opposition supporters said the signature faking allegations were invented by President Vladimir Putin's government to prevent opposition candidates from seeking office. </s> MOSCOW (AP) - Thousands of people have gathered in central Moscow to protest against the exclusion of opposition and independent candidates from the city council ballot, the third consecutive weekend of rallies over the issue.

Saturday's demonstration has been sanctioned by city authorities, unlike the two previous protests in which thousands of people were detained, sometimes violently. But some opposition figures have called for an unauthorized march into the capital's center after the permitted rally.

Police on Saturday detained Lyubov Sobol, an unregistered candidate who has become a spearhead of the protest. A video on her Twitter feed showed police breaking into her office as she demanded an explanation from them.

The issue has spread dissatisfaction beyond Moscow; small protests were reported in several Siberian cities on Saturday.

A protester holds a poster reading: "It's we who choose here!" during a protest in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2019. Masses of people gathered in central Moscow to demand that opposition candidates be included on ballots for an upcoming city parliament election in September. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko) </s> MOSCOW: Tens of thousands of Russians staged what a monitoring group called the country’s biggest political protest for eight years on Saturday, defying a crackdown to demand free elections to Moscow’s city legislature.

Police rounded up scores of people after the demonstration in Moscow and at another rally in St Petersburg, and detained a leading opposition figure before it began. But the response from the authorities was milder than the previous week when more than 1,000 protesters were detained, sometimes violently.

The White Counter monitoring group said up to 60,000 people had attended the Moscow rally, describing it as the biggest in Russia for eight years. Police put turnout at 20,000.

A month of demonstrations over elections for the Moscow city legislature have turned into the biggest sustained protest movement in Russia since 2011-2013, when protesters took to the streets against perceived electoral fraud.

Crowds at the rally in Moscow roared “down with the tzar!” and waved Russian flags. They are demanding that opposition-minded candidates be permitted to run in a city election next month after they were not allowed onto the ballot.

“The authorities have become brazen. It’s time to defend our rights,” said Natalya Plokhova, a recruiting consultant.

As the scenes unfolded in Moscow, President Vladimir Putin was shown on state television in a leather jacket at a biker show organized by the Night Wolves motorcycle club on the peninsula of Crimea which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Putin and the Kremlin have so far avoided commenting on the unrest over the Moscow city elections.

OVD-Info, a monitoring body, said 221 people were arrested at Saturday’s demonstration in Moscow and 80 in St Petersburg. A small number of other arrests took place in other cities, including Rostov-on-Don and Bryansk.

The Moscow protest was held with official permission, unlike last week’s demonstration. Afterwards, hundreds of mostly young people chanting “Putin is a thief” began gathering near the presidential administration building, prompting masked riot police to ring off the area and detain dozens.

Authorities had earlier warned protesters not to continue protesting after the officially authorized event. Until that point the rally had largely passed without major incident, apart from isolated police detentions and a smoke grenade set off nearby.

Ahead of the rally, police detained hunger-striking opposition activist Lyubov Sobol. Masked men raided her office and the police said they had information she and other activists were plotting a “provocation” at Saturday’s rally.

“I won’t make it to the protest. But you know what to do without me….Russia will be free!” Sobol wrote on Twitter.

Some pro-Kremlin politicians and officials have suggested that the West has helped orchestrate the protests. Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and at least seven of his allies are in jail for breaking protest law.

Investigators have opened criminal proceedings against about a dozen people for what they say was mass civil unrest at earlier protests, a crime that carries a heavy jail term. They have also opened a money-laundering investigation into Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation.

Throngs of protesters, sheltering from rain under umbrellas, chanted “freedom for political prisoners” and “Russia will be free”. Several Russian musicians with youth followings, including rapper Face and electronic band Ic3peak, performed at the rally despite city authorities saying that would be banned.

The focus of protesters’ anger is a prohibition on a slew of opposition-minded candidates, some of whom are allies of Navalny, from taking part in a September election for Moscow’s city legislature. That vote is seen as a dry run for a national parliamentary election in 2021.

Authorities say the opposition candidates failed to collect enough genuine signatures to register. The excluded candidates say that is a lie and insist on taking part in a contest they believe they could win.

The ruling United Russia party’s popularity rating is at its lowest since 2011 and President Vladimir Putin’s own rating has fallen due to discontent over falling living standards.

At well over 60%, it is still high compared to many other world leaders however, and last year the 66-year-old former KGB intelligence officer won a landslide re-election and a new six-year term until 2024. </s> People with national flags and various political parties flags gather during a protest in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2019. Masses of people gathered in central Moscow to demand that opposition candidates be included on ballots for an upcoming city parliament election in September. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

MOSCOW (AP) — Tens of thousands of people rallied Saturday against the exclusion of some city council candidates from Moscow’s upcoming election, turning out for one of the Russian capital’s biggest political protests in years.

After the rally, which was officially sanctioned, hundreds of participants streamed to an area near the presidential administration building to continue with an unauthorized demonstration. They were confronted by phalanxes of riot police and the arrest-monitoring group OVD-Info said 136 people were detained.

The rally was the fourth consecutive weekend demonstration in Moscow over the local election. The determined opposition has prompted protests in other cities, reflecting widespread frustration with Russia’s tightly controlled politics.

The protest attracted some 50,000 people, said Beliy Schetchik, an organization that counts public meeting attendance.

OVD-Info also said 86 people were arrested Saturday in St. Petersburg at an unsanctioned demonstration in support of the Moscow protests.

Unlike the previous two Moscow rallies, where police harshly dispersed the crowds and detained thousands of demonstrators, Saturday’s gathering in a neighborhood with relatively few passers-by was officially sanctioned.

It was held on a street flanked by high buildings and sandwiched between two busy thoroughfares.

Lyubov Sobol, one of the city council candidates denied a place on the ballot and a spearhead of the election protest, was among those detained in Moscow on Saturday.

A video on Sobol’s Twitter feed showed officers breaking into her office as she demanded an explanation from them.

Small related protests also were reported in several Siberian cities on Saturday. </s> People with national flags and various political parties flags gather during a protest in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2019. Masses of people gathered in central Moscow to demand that opposition candidates be included on ballots for an upcoming city parliament election in September. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

MOSCOW (AP) — Tens of thousands of people rallied Saturday in one of Moscow’s biggest political protests in recent years, denouncing the exclusion of opposition and independent candidates from the Russian capital’s city council ballot.

The rally was the fourth consecutive weekend demonstration in Moscow over the local election. The determined opposition has prompted protests in other cities, reflecting widespread frustration with Russia’s tightly controlled politics.

An arrest monitoring group said 70 people were arrested Saturday in St. Petersburg at an unsanctioned demonstration in support of the Moscow protests.

OVD-Info said 10 people were detained in connection with the Moscow rally, but it was not immediately clear on what grounds.

Unlike the previous two Moscow rallies, where police harshly dispersed the crowds and detained thousands of demonstrators, Saturday’s gathering in a neighborhood with relatively few passers-by was officially sanctioned.

It was held on a street flanked by high buildings and sandwiched between two busy thoroughfares.

A group that monitors attendance of public meetings, Beliy Schetchik, said it counted about 50,000 people at the demonstration; a police estimate put the crowd at 20,000.

Some opposition figures called for an unauthorized march to follow the permitted rally, but it was unclear if the action would materialize.

Lyubov Sobol, one of the city council candidates denied a place on the ballot and a spearhead of the election protest, was among those detained in Moscow on Saturday.

A video on Sobol’s Twitter feed showed officers breaking into her office as she demanded an explanation from them.

Small related protests also were reported in several Siberian cities on Saturday.

This story has been corrected to show that Saturday marked the fourth consecutive weekend of Moscow election protests, not the third. A rally was held on Sunday, July 14. </s> Tens of thousands of people have joined one of Moscow’s biggest political protests in recent years, denouncing the exclusion of opposition and independent candidates from the Russian capital’s city council ballot.

Tens of thousands of people have joined one of Moscow’s biggest political protests in recent years, denouncing the exclusion of opposition and independent candidates from the Russian capital’s city council ballot.

The rally on Saturday was the fourth consecutive weekend demonstration in Moscow over the local election. The determined opposition has also prompted protests in other cities, reflecting widespread frustration with Russia’s tightly controlled politics.

An arrest monitoring group said 70 people were arrested in St Petersburg at an unsanctioned demonstration in support of the Moscow protests.

OVD-Info said 10 people were detained in connection with the Moscow rally, but it was not immediately clear on what grounds.

A group that monitors attendance of public meetings, Beliye Schetchik, said it counted about 50,000 people at the Moscow demonstration. A police estimate put the crowd at 20,000.

Unlike the previous Moscow protests, where police harshly dispersed the crowds and detained thousands of demonstrators, the latest gathering in a neighbourhood with relatively few passers-by was officially sanctioned.

It was held on a street flanked by high buildings and sandwiched between two busy thoroughfares.

Lyubov Sobol, one of the city council candidates denied a place on the ballot and a spearhead of the election protest, was among those detained in Moscow on Saturday.

A video on Ms Sobol’s Twitter feed showed officers breaking into her office as she demanded an explanation from them. </s> Moscow (CNN) Hundreds of protesters have been arrested by police in the center of Moscow Saturday, in a crackdown on opposition supporters demanding free and fair elections.

Thousands of Russians pledged to attend the protest in the capital Saturday, after Russian authorities banned a number of independent and opposition candidates from taking part in municipal elections in September.

Authorities stated that the candidates were barred from running because they had failed to obtain a sufficient number of signatures to be put on the ballot paper. Opposition politicians and supporters have rejected this allegation.

The decision has sparked a number of protests across Russia this month, including the largest demonstration in recent years last weekend, when 22,000 people took to the streets. Protesters threatened to hold an even larger demonstration Saturday, which was subsequently declared illegal by the authorities.

Protesters take to the streets of Moscow after a number of opposition politicians were barred from running in municipal elections in September.

Hundreds of riot police were witnessed preparing for the protests Saturday morning, and were later seen linking arms to form a line, pushing protesters away from Moscow's City Hall.

OVD-info, a Russian democracy monitoring organization, said that at least 561 people have been detained thus far during the protests.

CNN witnessed clashes between protesters and police, with at least two protesters left with bloodied faces.

Moscow police said that 3,500 people took part in the protests, including 700 journalists and bloggers.

"A significant number of detainees are not residents of Moscow. All detainees are brought to the territorial police units for investigation," the State Ministry of Internal Affairs in Moscow said in the statement.

A number of arrests and raids were also carried out on opposition candidates in the days and hours leading up to the protest.

Alexei Navalny, Russia's most outspoken opposition figure, was among those detained during the week, and was later sentenced to 30 days in prison for allegedly violating the country's protest laws by calling for the demonstrations Saturday.

Navalny said on Instagram that he was detained as he left his apartment to go on a jog. "People are right when they say that sport is not always good for your health," he quipped. "I have been detained and am now at a police station wearing shorts like a stupid man."

Dmitry Gudkov, a fellow disqualified candidate, was also detained hours before Saturday's protest. He had previously claimed that the country's future was at stake due to the barring of opposition candidates.

"If we lose now, elections will cease to exist as a political instrument," he said. "What we're talking about is whether it's legal to participate in politics today in Russia, we're talking about the country we're going to live in."

Ilya Yashin, an ally of Navalny, reported on Facebook that he had also been detained hours before the demonstration following a raid on his house, and had been taken out of the Russian capital.

Other prominent activists to be detained include Kira Yarmysh, Navalyny's spokeswoman, Lyubov Sobo and Ivan Zhdanov.

Moscow's mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, warned on Twitter that police would react decisively to restore public order.

"According to information from law enforcement authorities, serious provocations are being prepared which pose a threat to the safety, lives and health of people," he said. "Attempts at ultimatums, disorder will not lead to anything good. Order in the city will be maintained."
As many as 50,000 people gathered at ongoing protests in Moscow against the Russian authorities preventing several opposition candidates from running in the election, which turned into a protest against the government in general. It is the biggest such event since the 2011 protests.