Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law that classifies motorcades and tent cities as forms of protest that must be registered and approved by authorities at least 10 days in advance to be legal.

The change to Russia's laws on demonstrations and protests was announced on March 9.

It follows a growing number of demonstrations by drivers driving together in protest parades in order to circumvent laws against unregistered and unapproved mass protests.

In December, Russian truck drivers targeted the country's new national highway toll system by converging on Moscow and snarling a key highway.

The new legislation signed by Putin essentially groups together such "road rallies" in the same legal category as political demonstrations.

With reporting by Interfax and TASS