Russian police detained opposition leader and former world chess champion Garry Kasparov today when they broke up an anti-Kremlin protest eight days before Russia's parliamentary election.
Scuffles broke out between police and protesters in central Moscow after around 3,000 people tried to march to the central election commission's headquarters.
"No election. For Russia. Against Putin," shouted the protesters, organised by the opposition Other Russia group, which accuses Russian President Vladimir Putin of destroying personal liberties and the freedom of the press.
The umbrella group, which unites Kremlin opponents from liberal free market thinkers to anarchists, also says a parliamentary election scheduled for December 2 is unfairly weighted towards pro-Putin party United Russia.
Police have cracked down on Other Russia marches this year, hitting protesters with batons and detaining hundreds, but they recently adopted a softer approach. On Saturday they kept their distance until a squad of riot police blocked the march.
Plain clothes police roughly pushed and pulled people into vans and police armed with batons grabbed protest leaders.
A spokesman for Kasparov said police had detained about 60 protesters. Police declined to comment.
After police broke up the march, protesters moved away in small groups and said they had expected the authorities to block the demonstration.