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Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin on Tuesday called anti-corruption protests that brought thousands of people onto the streets of the Russian capital “a dangerous provocation,’’ a news agency reported.
Baton-wielding riot police broke up on Monday’s protests and detained hundreds of demonstrators in Moscow and other Russian cities.
Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who called the protests, was arrested and swiftly sentenced to a prison term.
The protests were some of the biggest in Russia since 2012.
“The unpermitted action in the centre of Moscow on June 12 was a vile and dangerous provocation.
“It is a miracle that nobody was injured, we all are lucky that there was no bloodshed,’’ Sobyanin said.
Moscow authorities had initially authorised a venue for the protest away from the city centre.
However, Navalny switched it to Tverskaya Street, Moscow’s main avenue near the Kremlin.
The General Prosecutor’s Office had warned that a protest there would be illegal.
“The police and the OMON (riot police) acted in a professional and proper way.
“If the law enforcement had acted in a different way, this could have led to unpredictable consequences,” Sobyanin said.
The Kremlin said earlier that Russian authorities would not pay attention to U.S. calls to release the demonstrators who were detained during the protests.
(Source: Reuters/NAN)
