Anti-Kremlin protesters marked Russian President Vladimir Putin’s birth on Saturday by gathering across Russia in support of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, according to multiple reports.
The protesters were responding to a call by Alexei Navalny, who is serving a 20-day jail sentence for violating public meeting laws.
Navalny is hoping to challenge Putin in the country’s presidential election in March, though the country’s election commission has ruled him ineligible because he is serving a five-year suspended prison sentence for embezzlement.
The opposition leader has said the conviction is politically motivated.
In Moscow, police allowed protesters to rally near the Kremlin, and in St. Petersburg – Putin’s hometown – authorities dispersed protesters, arresting at least 66 of them, according to Reuters.
In all, at least 262 people had been detained across the country in the protests, Reuters reported.
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Anti-Putin protests break out across Russia on Putin's birthday https://t.co/W0jnv027YV pic.twitter.com/h3ks607EQF
— The Hill (@thehill) October 7, 2017
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