Russian Police Detain Kasparov

Associated PressNovember 24, 2007 8:26 a.m.

MOSCOW — Riot police on Saturday broke up an anti-Kremlin rally of several thousand people, detaining some of the protesters, including former chess champion Garry Kasparov and other opposition leaders.

Police also detained Eduard Limonov, leader of the National Bolshevik Party, who has been Mr. Kasparov’s closest partner in a broad opposition coalition.

Mr. Kasparov, one of President Vladimir Putin’s harshest critics, and other opposition politicians have come under growing pressure before Dec. 2 elections.

The police, who had surrounded the rally, moved in when about 150 of the protesters broke through police lines and tried to march to the Central Elections Commission.

Police pushed protesters into three police vans. Before he was himself surrounded by police, Mr. Kasparov estimated that dozens, protesting against Mr. Putin’s rule, had been detained

“We should overcome the fear that the regime uses to sustain itself,” Mr. Kasparov told the crowd. “For the Putin regime, our country is just a source of enrichment.”

Here is the full story.

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