Russian Police have detained more than 100 people at anti-Kremlin protests after Vladimir Putin said demonstrators without permits could expect harsh treatment.
In Moscow, police detained opposition politician Boris Nemtsov and dozens of other protestors who gathered on a central square declared off-limits last week.
The protestors were shouting 'Shame!' and 'Russia without Putin!'
Police dragged protestors through the crowd and shoved them into buses, carrying some who tried to resist or twisting their arms behind their backs.
Moscow police spokesman Viktor Biryukov said about 70 people were detained in the square.
Up to 50 people were detained on St Petersburg's main street, Nevsky Prospekt.
Opposition leaders and rights activists have converged on Moscow's Triumph Square on the 31st of each month, a date symbolising the right to free assembly guaranteed in Article 31 of Russia's constitution.
The protests have become a major focus of opposition, and the police response is seen as a barometer of the Kremlin's willingness to tolerate dissent.
Police have detained protestors each time, with varying degrees of force.
Vladimir Putin defended police crackdowns on pro-democracy protestors in an interview published yesterday.
He said 'Go without permission, and you will be hit on the head with batons. That's all there is to it.'
