Thousands of Muscovites protested in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny for a second weekend despite an unprecedented crackdown against the opposition in the days prior and a lockdown imposed by the authorities across central Moscow.
Unable to gather at the planned protest point in front of the Federal Security Service (FSB) headquarters, protesters split up into groups and rallied at several points, including outside the Matrosskaya Tishina prison where Navalny is being held.
Throughout their journey, demonstrators were chased by hundreds of riot police in a cat-and-mouse game. By the end of the day, more than 1,500 people in the capital would be detained as the police cracked down on peaceful protesters.
Here’s a look at photos from throughout the day that were first published by MT’s partner site VTimes:
