They were organized by supporters of Alexei Navalny, whom the Russian authorities arrested before the start of the action. At the same time, such actions were held today throughout the country, but in these two cities the number of detentions was an order of magnitude greater than in all of Russia.

As reported by Russian media, at the moment there is no exact information about the detainees, but it is known that the police in Moscow detained 679 people, and in St. Petersburg, were detained about 500 people.

Among the detainees are activists of political organizations, journalists with press cards and underage teenagers.

In their official communications, the police and authorities stressed that the actions in St. Petersburg on the Champ de Mars and in Moscow on Tverskaya were not sanctioned and therefore must be stopped.

Recall, as reported URA-Inform, today, on the Day of Russia, began an anti-corruption action, organized by Alexei Navalny. In Moscow, Yaroslavl and a number of other cities, rallies are coordinated contrary to reports of the prosecutor's office. It is already known about the first arrests.