MOSCOW — Riot police broke up a march against President Vladimir Putin in the Russian capital Saturday and arrested chess legend Garry Kasparov and several other opposition leaders, a clampdown on pro-democracy protesters a week before Russia’s pivotal parliament election.
Police armed with truncheons moved in on marchers as they tried to make their way toward the Central Election Commission building, where they had planned to submit a petition questioning authorities’ adherence to democratic principles ahead of legislative elections Dec. 2.
The march followed an authorized rally held by Kasparov and fellow opposition activists in downtown Moscow, attended by about 2,000 Russians. While demonstrators did not have city permission to march to the election commission building, they avoided provoking a confrontation with police.
Saturday evening, a Moscow court sentenced Kasparov to five days in jail on charges of organizing an illegal march and resisting arrest.
