Mass protests in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Photos of the police crackdown

Police detained more than 1,000 demonstrators at protests in Russia’s two biggest cities on Monday, June 12. On Tverskaya Street in Moscow and at Marsovo Polye Park in St. Petersburg, officers say they grabbed anyone who seemed to have come to participate in an unsanctioned political demonstration against corruption. Because Monday was also Russia Day, a national holiday celebrating the country’s state sovereignty, police had to detain many of the activists at outdoor public events literally as Russia's national anthem played over loudspeakers.

Moscow

St. Petersburg