MOSCOW: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was wrestled to the ground and forced into a police vehicle Sunday as he headed to a Moscow protest that was part of a day of nationwide demonstrations.
Navalny, the most prominent foe of President Vladimir Putin, organized the protests to urge a boycott of Russia鈥檚 March 18 presidential election, in which Putin is sure to win a fourth term.
The anti-corruption campaigner was denied permission to be a presidential candidate because of an embezzlement conviction in a case widely seen as politically motivated.
Sunday鈥檚 protests gathered crowds through the sprawling nation despite frigid temperatures. Navalny鈥檚 web page showed a small group of protesters in remote Yakutsk, where it was minus 45 Celsius (minus 49 Fahrenheit).
A crowd that police estimated at 1,000 people assembled in central Moscow鈥檚 Pushkin Square, brandishing placards reading 鈥淭hey鈥檝e stolen the election from us鈥� and 鈥淓lections without Navalny are fake.鈥�
Navalny was arrested as he walked down a main thoroughfare to the demonstration. Video on his YouTube channel showed Navalny struggling with police before they pushed him to the ground and then into a bus.
He called on supporters to continue the demonstrations despite his arrest.
鈥淭hey have detained me. This doesn鈥檛 mean anything,鈥� he said on Twitter. 鈥淵ou didn鈥檛 come out for me, but for your future.鈥�
Hours earlier, police raided Navalny鈥檚 Moscow headquarters, where there is a studio for live video transmissions. One broadcaster on the stream said police apparently were using a grinder to try to get access to the studio.
The anchors said police said they had come because of an alleged bomb threat.
One anchor, Dmitri Nizovtsev, was detained by police during the raid, according to video broadcast by the headquarters. Navalny鈥檚 Moscow coordinator, Nikolai Lyaskin, also was detained Sunday, the Interfax news agency quoted him as saying.
Demonstrations were reported throughout the country. Local news reports said about 1,000 Navalny supporters were marching in St. Petersburg.
The OVD-Info group, which monitors political arrests, reported scores of demonstrators had been detained at protests in cities including Murmansk, Ufa and Kemerovo.
Several hundred demonstrators assembled in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok, complaining both of Putin鈥檚 rule and of Navalny鈥檚 exclusion from the March 18 presidential election.
鈥淭hey took these elections away from us, they took away our votes. Our candidate was not allowed to run,鈥� said Vladivostok demonstrator Dmitri Kutyaev.
Navalny rose to prominence with detailed reports about corruption among top Russian officials, which he popularized on social media to circumvent state control of television.
Last year, he called for two demonstrations that attracted people throughout the country, undermining critics鈥� claims that he appeals only to a narrow segment of prosperous Russian urbanites.
Russian opposition leader Navalny arrested amid protests
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