PRO-NAVALNY SUPPORTERS ARRESTED

The police were out in large numbers in dozens of cities and towns across Russia on Sunday as tens of thousands took to the streets to show support for the jailed opposition leader Aleksei Navalny.

It was one of the most imposing shows of police force seen in the country’s recent history, according to the Monday Briefing of The New York Times

More than 4,000 people, including Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, were detained, but many have been released. Here’s the latest.

In Vladivostok, demonstrators descended onto the ice of a frozen bay, with riot officers in pursuit. In Chelyabinsk, there was footage of riot police officers clubbing protesters with batons.

There were reports of stun guns and tear gas being used in St. Petersburg.

The turnout in so many parts of the nation showed that the accumulated anger with President Vladimir Putin remains a potent force. Disappointment over slumping wages is also taking a toll on support for the Putin government.

“The bolts are tightening,” said Nikolai Babikov, 31, a computer systems analyst surveying the police operation in Moscow. “Freedom is being eliminated and bit by bit we are becoming the Soviet Union again.”

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