Thousands of people have gathered in Moscow's Sakharov Avenue, a few miles from the Kremlin, to protest at the alleged rigging of parliamentary elections on 4 December.

At least 28,000 people turned out in Moscow, according to police figures - 120,000 according to the organisers.

One of the most eagerly anticipated speeches at the Moscow rally was that of Alexei Navalny, the anti-corruption blogger jailed for 15 days after the parliamentary election for obstructing police during a protest.

Alexei Kudrin, who served as Vladimir Putin's finance minister for a decade before resigning this year, told the rally there was a risk of revolution if the Kremlin did not begin a dialogue.

Russian nationalists with their black, yellow and white tsarist flags were among the demonstrators in Moscow.

Elderly demonstrator Zoya (centre) turned out in Moscow.

The hostility towards Vladimir Putin, who has dominated Russia for more than a decade as president and prime minister, was clear.

Demonstrators in Moscow held a poster of Mr Putin draped in a condom after he compared the protest symbol of a white ribbon to a sheath.

Russia's second city, St Petersburg, also saw a protest rally, as did other Russian cities and towns. This protester is holding a poster saying "Freedom for political prisoners"