Opposition protesters in Moscow rally against Vladimir Putin
Thousands of Russian anti-government protesters have taken part in a major rally in Moscow to demand fresh elections and a new president.
Last week, President Vladimir Putin approved legislation increasing fines for those who violate protest laws.
On Monday, police searched the homes of several opposition leaders and summoned them for questioning an hour before Tuesday's march, a tactic Kremlin critics said smacked of the days of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.
One of them, Sergei Udaltsov, defied an order to report for questioning, and instead addressed the crowd.
The web sites of at least two media outlets critical of the Kremlin, including a television station trying to stream the demonstration live, were taken down in actions reminiscent of December parliamentary election that critics say were, like the later presidential poll, rigged.
Police, who had beaten protesters at a rally on May 6, the eve of Putin's inauguration, stood along the route of Tuesday's march. Helmeted riot units lined one short stretch, but the security was lighter than at previous protests dating back to the December polls and no arrests were reported.
Anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny, liberal activist Ilya Yashin and TV host Ksenia Sobchak all attended the interrogation session, which meant they missed the demonstration.
Investigative committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said authorities had found more than €1m (£805,000) in cash at Sobchak's apartment and would initiate a check to see whether she had paid her taxes.
Sobchak, the only daughter of a late mayor of Saint Petersburg who was Putin's mentor, had been spared reprisals until Monday's raid. "I never thought that we would slide back to such repressions," she tweeted on Monday.
Many protesters are middle-class city dwellers who have benefitted from the oil-fuelled boom Russia has experienced during Putin’s years in power but want more of a say in politics and fear his prolonged rule will bring economic stagnation.
Police largely left big winter protests alone but began to crack down after Putin’s election, beating protesters at the rally on May 6 and repeatedly dispersing groups trying to set up Occupy-style camps si n ce then, briefly detaining hundreds.
They have detained 12 people over violence at that protest on charges punishable by more than a year in jail, and the latest summonses seemed to carry the implicit threat that opposition leaders could potentially face similar charges.
Tens of thousands of protesters, a sea of flags, banners and placards flowed through the centre of Moscow, he says.
The demonstrators chanted "Putin is a thief" and "Russia without Putin".
"It's obvious they are as frightened of us as they are of fire," opposition leader Boris Nemtsov told the rally. "They are scared of the people's protest."
Putin, 59, who built wide popularity by restoring strong central rule in Russia from the chaos of the immediate post-Soviet era, made no direct reference to the protest during a national day ceremony in the Kremlin. But he said those who rocked the boat were out to undermine Russia.
"For us, anything that weakens the country or divides society is unacceptable," he said. "Any decisions and steps that can cause social and economic shocks are impermissible."
Putin has vowed not to let Russia be weakened by "social shocks".
"We cannot accept anything that weakens our country or divides society," he said in televised remarks.
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