White House calls on Putin to release peaceful protesters following anti-government demonstrations.

Tens of thousands of protesters gathered Sunday on the streets of Russia to demonstrate in opposition to government corruption. This gathering was one of the largest protests Russia has seen in recent years since a similar occurrence during the 2011-2012 anti-government demonstrations.

Alexei Navalny, a Russian opposition leader, was jailed for 15 days by a Moscow court on Monday after resisting police orders. This comes at a time when Russia finds itself in the public eye more so than usual.

In the wake of the protests, the White House called on Russia to release all of the peaceful protesters who were arrested this weekend during the anti-government demonstrations.

The AP reports:

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White House press secretary Sean Spicer said the U.S. “strongly condemns the detention of hundreds of peaceful protesters throughout Russia on Sunday.” Spicer on Monday read a State Department statement calling the detentions “an affront to essential democratic values.”

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Spicer’s statements affirm the Trump Administration’s positive stance on free speech and democracy.