Russian police today detained at least 170 people; including chess champion Garry Kasparov, snuffing out an attempt by opponents of President Vladimir Putin to protest near the Kremlin.
Activists had planned to gather at a city centre square about 1km from the Kremlin to protest at what they say is Putin's trampling of democratic freedoms and demand a fair vote to choose a new president in 2008.
Teams of riot police pounced on protesters as they appeared in small groups near the square and swiftly loaded them into buses.
"The authorities are afraid of their own citizens and they do not want citizens to influence what is happening in the country," said Mikhail Kasyanov, a leader of the Other Russia opposition coalition that organised the protest.
The protesters have marginal influence in Russia. The vast majority of voters back Putin, who has overseen rising incomes and political stability.
The protest came a day after Russian multi-millionaire Boris Berezovsky said in a newspaper interview from his London base that he was fomenting revolution in Russia. The protest organisers distanced themselves from Berezovsky.
