Opposition leader Alexei Navalny among more than 1,600 arrested in Russia in anti-Putin protests

Doug Stanglin | USA TODAY

More than 1,600 people — including prominent opposition leader Alexei Navalny — were arrested Saturday in Russia during a day of nationwide protests of the upcoming inauguration of Vladimir Putin for a new six-year term as president, according to a group that monitors political repression.

Navalny, a long-time Putin nemesis and anti-corruption campaigner, organized the nationwide rallies under the slogan "He is not our czar" in response to the president's re-election in March.

In Moscow, where thousands crowded into Moscow Pushkin Square, police in riot gear waded into the crowd and were seen grabbing some demonstrators and leading them away, but there were no immediate moves to disperse the crowd. A helicopter hovered overhead to monitor the crowd.

“Let my son go!” Iraida Nikolaeva screamed, running after police in Moscow when they detained her son. “He did not do anything! Are you a human or not? Do you live in Russia or not?”

Police seized Navalny by the arms and legs and carried the thrashing activist from the square. He was to be charged with disobeying police, an offense that carries a sentence of up to 15 days, news reports said.

In St. Petersburg, police blocked off a large section of the main avenue and arrested demonstrators taking part in the rally.

Video posted on Navalny's YouTube channel showed the wide Nevsky Prospekt avenue blocked off around Gostiny Dvor, the sprawling trade complex that is one of the city’s landmarks. A crowd estimated at more than 1,000 had earlier begun marching down Nevsky.

OVD-Info, which tracks political repressions, said 704 people were arrested in Moscow and 229 in St. Petersburg.,

Протесты в Питере https://t.co/vETictkpBa — Арсений Веснин (@ars_ves) May 5, 2018

The OVD-Info group said 97 people were detained in Chelyabinsk and 75 in Yakutsk, in the far northeast, although all have been released.

Contributing: Associated Press