MOSCOW – Russians rallied on Saturday in support of prison opposition leader Alexei A. Navalny in more than 100 cities, the largest protests in the country since at least 2017.
It was a wave of rage rolling through the country’s 11 time zones, starting at port cities on the Pacific Ocean and moving to the streets of Siberia. The biggest protests, which drew more than 10,000 people, were in Moscow, the capital, where riot police used camouflage, armor and shiny black helmets to try to clean up the crowd.
More than 3,000 people have been detained nationwide, an activist group said. Many people who took part in the protests, which were unauthorized, appeared uncomfortable with the imprisonment while chanting slogans against President Vladimir V. Putin.
But it seems unlikely that the protests will move the Kremlin to change course. The state news media condemned them as a “wave of aggression”, and law enforcement officials promised to prosecute anyone who attacked the police.
The question is whether more protests will follow – and whether more Russians, frustrated by stagnant income and official corruption after two decades of rule by Mr Putin, will join Navalny’s movement. His supporters have already promised to hold more meetings next weekend on Saturday night.
“If Putin thinks that the most frightening things are behind him, he is mistaken very badly and naively,” said Leonid Volkov, a top assistant to Mr. Navalny, said.
Above, riot police detained a man on Pushkin Square in Moscow. The protesters appear to be more daring than in recent years. Below, protesters hold up banners that read: “Do not be afraid. Do not be silent ”and“ One for all and all for one ”under a statue of Alexander Pushkin, Russia’s most famous poet.
The riot police repeatedly charged the crowd and waved clubs. According to the OVD-Info activist group, which is being arrested, more than 1,200 people have been detained in Moscow.
Some people sought refuge in surrounding cafes, shops and metro stops. Police officers arrested some people while letting most go in a seemingly random manner.
However, some protesters did not want to confront the police. When officers charged, some people fought back and sometimes threw objects.
The call to protest has gone viral on social media, especially on TikTok, a short video app popular with children and teens. But the protesters represented a cross-section of generations.
Authorities closed most mobile internet connections around the protests, but images of detention and confrontations between protesters and police officers were still widely seen.
As was the case in previous protests, the state’s display of power was overwhelming. Polls show that the approval of Mr. Putin is deteriorating, and the Kremlin does not seem to be taking any chances.