Two protest rallies were held in the centre of Moscow claimed Vladimir Putin stole the Russian presidential election. The fact that the major protest was sanctioned by Moscow authorities didn’t prevent the police from arresting hundreds of people in an enormous security operation that saw thousands of police officers and soldiers flood the centre of the capital.

The sanctioned rally – on Pushkinskaya Square – gathered 15-20,000 people. Protesters demanded new and fair presidential and parliamentary elections, and repeated the requests of previous mass protests: immediate release of political prisoners, registration of opposition parties, the resignation and investigation of head of Central Election Commission Vladimir Churov and new democratic election laws.

Although President Medvedev proposed simplifying the registration process for political parties and restoring citizens’ rights to elect governors and mayors, opposition leaders remain sceptical, especially as the bill is vague and would not come into force for a couple of years. The Duma is due to pass the legislation after Putin takes presidential office, and opposition activists believe he might want to cancel the political reform.

People at Pushkinskaya didn’t seem to trust neither Medvedev or Putin. “We are the power”, they chanted, “Russia without Putin” and “A thief must be in prison, not in Kremlin”. Supported by several hundred reporters, Left Front movement leader Sergey Udaltsov said from the stage that he would stay in the square “until Putin leaves”. Soon after the rally ended many key opposition leaders Alexey Navalny, Ilya Yashin and Udaltsov himself were arrested. Activist and Duma Deputy Advisor Alena Popova broke her arm after police pushed her to the ground.

The other rally was unsanctioned and held by Eduard Limonov, leader of opposition movement “The Other Russia” near the Central Election Commission building. The commission refused to register him as a presidential candidate and Limonov was arrested as soon as he arrived at the rally, along with many of his supporters. Another protest rally for fair elections was held in Saint-Petersburg, where 500 people out of 3000 participants were arrested.

Most people who were arrested were released after several hours, accused of breaking the law on rallies.