In Pictures

Photos: Thousands arrested at anti-war protests across Russia

Monitoring group says 4,366 people arrested in 56 cities at protests against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russian policemen arrest a participant in an unauthorized rally against the Russian special operation in Ukraine, in Saint Petersburg — Russian policemen in Saint Petersburg arrest a participant in a protest against the war in Ukraine. [Anatoly Maltsev/EPA]

By News Agencies

Thousands of people have been arrested at protests across Russia against President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia’s interior ministry said more than 3,500 people had been arrested: 1,700 in Moscow, 750 in St Petersburg and 1,061 in other cities. The ministry said 5,200 people had taken part in the protests.

The OVD-Info protest monitoring group said it had documented the arrest of at least 4,366 people in 56 cities.

The last Russian protests with a similar number of arrests were in January 2021, when thousands demanded the release of opposition leader Alexey Navalny after he was arrested on returning from Germany where he had been recovering from nerve agent poisoning.

Some Russian state-controlled media carried short reports about Sunday’s protests but they did not feature prominently in news bulletins.

Russia’s RIA news agency said the Manezhnaya Square in Moscow, adjoining the Kremlin, had been “liberated” by police, who had arrested some participants of an unsanctioned protest against the military operation in Ukraine.

Russian policemen block the Nevsky Prospekt during an unauthorized rally against the Russian military operation in Ukraine, in Saint Petersburg — Russian policemen during a rally in Saint Petersburg against the invasion of Ukraine. [Anatoly Maltsev/EPA]

Russian policemen deploy prior to an unauthorized rally against the Russian special operation in Ukraine, in downtown Moscow — Russian policemen deploy in downtown Moscow. [Yuri Kochetkov/EPA]

Russian policemen arrest a participant in an unauthorized rally against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in downtown Moscow — Russia's interior ministry said 1,700 people had been arrested in Moscow. [Yuri Kochetkov/EPA]

Russian policemen deployed prior to an unauthorized protest against the Russian military invasion in Ukraine, in downtown Moscow — Jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny called on Russians worldwide to take to the streets on March 6 to protest the war in Ukraine. [Yuri Kochetkov/EPA]

A person is arrested during an anti-war protest, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Yekaterinburg — An arrest is made during an anti-war protest in Yekaterinburg. [Handout via Reuters]

Law enforcement officers are seen during an anti-war protest, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Yekaterinburg — The last Russian protests with a similar number of arrests were in January 2021, when thousands demanded the release of Navalny. [Handout via Reuters]