(Vatican Radio)-- Russian police have briefly detained opposition leaders and dozens
of other activists at a rally against President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Saturday's
protest marked a year of protest against his leadership.
"Dear citizens,
walk to the metro station," a police officer told demonstrators, making clear that
their protest was illegal.
Despite a heavy police presence, some 3,000 opposition
supporters braved freezing temperatures to demonstrate in front of the Moscow headquarters
of the federal security service FSB against the perceived autocratic president Vladimir
Putin.
They also marked the first anniversary of the outbreak of mass protests
against Putin, who was prime minister at the time.
DOZENS DETAINED
However
police soon intervened and detained some 40 people.
Among those taken into
custody were prominent blogger and activist Alexei Navalny, and fellow opposition
leaders Ilya Yashin, Ksenia Sobchak and Left Front head Sergei Udaltsov.
Navalny
later said on his twitter website that he and other opposition leaders had been released
without charge.
The latest tensions come amid international concerns about
a reported crackdown on opposition activists. However President Putin has condemned
his foreign critics.
FOREIGN "MEDDLING"
In his first state of the
nation speech since returning for a new six-year term in the Kremlin in May, he warned
of "direct or indirect meddling in Russian politics". On laud applause, he said "Russians
receiving money from abroad should be barred from politics."
Criticizing
Russia's government can be dangerous for both the opposition and journalists.
On
Friday former policeman Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment
for arranging the murder of Russian investigative journalist, and Kremlin critic,
Anna Politkovskaya.
Journalist Politkovskaya was found shot dead in an
elevator at her block of flats in Moscow in 2006. Pavlyuchenkov struck a plea bargain
in court admitting his guilt, but without having to testify.
Yet, Politkovskaya's
family fears that without Pavlyuchenkov’s testimony, they will never know who was
behind her killing.