[7][10][11] Governor Valentina Matviyenko, appearing on Channel 5 news bulletins on Friday evening (March 2), warned people not to join those she called extremists.

[20][21][22][23] According to police, all of the detainees were released shortly except for two bodyguards of Eduard Limonov, who got 15 days of arrest for "organization of mass disorders".

[20][25] Despite the fact that the organizers had been denied permission for the rally by the city authorities, several thousand people defied the ban, facing about 3,000 police officers and OMON summoned up from St. Petersburg, the Republic of Karelia, Pskov, and Vladimir.

[7][29] They called for the dismissal of Governor Matviyenko, a close Putin ally, accusing her of corruption and interference with small businesses in favor of large state-owned corporations.

[7] Tatyana Voltskaya, a journalist working for Radio Free Europe who witnessed the protest, said, "When I came I saw a very tight police cordon.

'"[7] Resolutions adopted by the March[30] included: demands on federal policy (to allow opposition to participate in elections, reforms of judiciary, trials against corruptioners, restoration of direct gubernatorial elections abolished on Vladimir Putin's initiative in 2005); protests against actions of St. Petersburg Governor (mayor) Valentina Matviyenko and demands to dismiss her; and a block of social claims (such as usage of the stabilization fund [1] to enhance pensions, or demonopolizing the market of public transportation).

"[citation needed] Valentina Matviyenko called the protesters "guest stars from Moscow" and "youths of extremist persuasion", accusing them of stirring turmoil ahead of the legislative elections, venting their discontent with the city's perceived dynamic development, and receiving financial support from dubious sources, such as imprisoned Mikhail Khodorkovsky and emigrated Boris Berezovsky.

[10] State-owned Russia channel reported on the March: "Authorities of St. Petersburg called an attempt to carry out unsanctioned action of protest in centre of the city a provocation.

The Governor of the "Northern Capital" Valentina Matviyenko has issued assurances that it was backed by the people who are against the political stability in the city before elections."

[41] Former Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, libertarian economist and former economic policy adviser to President Vladimir Putin Andrey Illarionov, National Bolshevik Party leader Eduard Limonov, former world chess champion and United Civil Front leader Garry Kasparov, screenwriter Viktor Shenderovich, opposition State Duma deputy Vladimir Ryzhkov, Union of Right Forces leader Nikita Belykh, as well as Georgy Satarov, Irina Hakamada, and many others took part in the rally.

Police dispersed about a half of them on their way there and detained some people, including Garry Kasparov, Yabloko youth wing leader Ilya Yashin, Yes!

[44] As the demonstration ended, the remaining participants headed for the nearby metro station, but riot police formed a gauntlet on their way.

Scores of demonstrators was beaten by police with truncheons and detained, as well as Russian and foreign journalists covering the event and passersby.

Andrey Illarionov, former economic policy adviser to President Vladimir Putin and now a participant of the rally, claimed later on Saturday in an interview to the Echo of Moscow radio station that the authorities' treatment of the march had to be considered a criminal offense under Article 31 of the Russian Constitution.

President Vladimir Putin visited the city on the night before the event together with former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and American film actor of Belgian origin Jean-Claude Van Damme to watch a martial arts contest, but did not comment on the protest.

Earlier, on Friday and Saturday, police raided Saint Petersburg Yabloko headquarters to confiscate publicity material about the march, demanded information about those involved in the printing and distribution of it and detained several distributors.

[50] There were some speculation that Garry Kasparov failed to take part in the Saint Petersburg event because he had been released from police detention too late in the aftermath of the Saturday rally in Moscow.

[51] During the meeting protesters chanted slogans targeting policies of President Vladimir Putin and Governor Valentina Matviyenko, demanding an end to corruption and police violence against dissenters, greater accountability of the authorities, as well as free mass media and elections, and claiming that they were not afraid.

As in two hours protesters had begun to disperse, heading toward the nearby Pushkinskaya metro station, OMON started beating them as well as some passersby with truncheons.

Police detained about 120 participants (according to official figures) including Eduard Limonov, Maxim Reznik and Sergey Gulyayev himself, with his left arm broken in the clash.

[50] On Sunday evening, Russia TV Channel broadcast a shortened and recut version of a French documentary alleging that the recent revolutions in Eastern Europe (Serbia, Georgia and Ukraine) had been masterminded by the U.S. government, which had been heavily advertised and has been perceived by many as an effort to counter effects of the Saturday and Sunday protests.

[53] In an interview on Russia Today TV aired on April 17, President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov called Dissenters Marches of the weekend extremely insignificant.

[54] On April 16, European Commission spokeswoman Christiane Hohmann expressed concern over the police response and said that EU foreign ministers would raise the issue at talks with Russia in Luxembourg next week.

U.S. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino also voiced concern over "an emerging pattern of use of excessive force" by the authorities with special reference to police's treatment of journalists.

Police broke up anti-Putin demonstrations in Moscow, detaining former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, who had become an outspoken critic of the government.

[58] Kasparov was sentenced on Saturday to five days imprisonment for organising an unsanctioned rally and refusing to obey police orders.

On November 25 marches took part in Saint-Petersburg, where hundreds gathered as police moved in to make arrests,[58] and also in Yaroslavl and Vladimir.