Protests in Russia started on November 24th, 2007 in Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

 and Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

.

Police broke up anti-Putin

Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...

 demonstrations in Moscow, detaining former world chess champion Garry Kasparov

Garry Kasparov

Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time....

, who has become an outspoken critic of the government. Kasparov was sentenced Saturday to five days for organising an unsanctioned rally and refusing to obey police orders, but told reporters the charges were "unfounded" and accused the Russian leader of taking recourse to scare tactics. In Saint Petersburg, hundreds gathered as police moved in to make arrests.

Russian authorities geared for fresh protests on Sunday.

Human rights activist Lev Ponomarev, who was also arrested, accused the authorities of a "completely exaggerated reaction".