VIDEO

RFE/RL: Protesters detained in Putin’s hometown of St. Petersburg (VIDEO)

Supporters of Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny staged nationwide protests on Oct. 7 to coincide with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 65th birthday, with police making hundreds of arrests. Most of the arrests on Oct. 7 came in Putin’s hometown of St. Petersburg, where more than 1,000 people gathered at Marsovo Polye (the Field of Mars) in the city center and then marched across the city.