Fresh anti-government protests across Russia

DPA, 31ST JANUARY, 2021-A second weekend of unauthorized rallies across Russia to demand the release of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny were under way on Sunday, with dozens of people reported detained in Moscow and elsewhere.

More than 30 people were taken into police custody by Sunday afternoon in Moscow, said human rights activists in the Russian capital, where the city center was almost completely closed off.

Police in riot gear have been using fencing to block protesters from reaching a planned meeting place near the headquarters of the FSB security agency, according to a dpa reporter at the scene.

The police action has led organizers to point supporters to new meeting points. Hundreds had already gathered at one of them, the Krasnye Vorota underground station, where security forces met them.

From the station the demonstrators then began marching together and chanting “Russia without Putin,” “Freedom for political prisoners” and “Russia will be free.” Passing cars honked their horns in solidarity.

Authorities said there were 300 demonstrators at the protest in Moscow, defying authorities’ repeated warnings not to take part in the banned action.

In an effort to dampen the protests, authorities closed seven metro stations, and shops, cafes and restaurants will not be allowed to open.

Similar scenes were playing out in Russia’s second biggest city Saint Petersburg, where according to accounts much of the center had been shut off to the public.