Police in Moscow have released all of the protesters who were detained on Sunday for attempting to stage unsanctioned demonstrations against parliamentary elections, a police spokesman told RIA Novosti on Monday.
Riot police detained about 100 would-be protesters at Moscow’s central Triumfalnaya Square, a trademark venue for opposition rallies, and about a dozen more people at other sites.
The demonstrators face court appearances where they may receive fines or other administrative penalties, the spokesman said.
Dozens of opposition activists were arrested in Moscow and St. Petersburg on Sunday evening for attempting to stage rallies against parliamentary elections .
Seventy protesters were detained in St. Petersburg, according to the local police.
Russians voted Sunday to elect the State Duma, the lower chamber of the parliament, in what was widely regarded as a vote of confidence in Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party. The party has nominated him as the presidential candidate for the March, 2012 vote.
Major squares in downtown Moscow were sealed off by police Sunday afternoon and dozens of police buses and paddy wagons were parked around the Kremlin.
Preliminary outcome of the State Duma elections
There were more than 50,000 police on duty in the Russian capital on election day, more than double the number in Moscow during the previous Duma vote in 2007.