Day after mass protests, Kremlin cracks the whip

Police officers detain a man during an anti-corruption rally in central Moscow on Sunday. Pic/AFP

Moscow: The Kremlin on Monday rejected calls by the United States and the European Union to release opposition protesters detained during what it said were illegal demonstrations the previous day and accused organisers of paying teenagers to attend.

The United States and the European Union both issued statements calling on Russia to free detained protesters. But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday such calls were wide of the mark. "We can't agree with these calls," said Peskov, saying the police had been professional and properly enforced Russian law. He said the Kremlin had no problem with people expressing their opinions at protest meetings, but said the timing and location of such events had to be agreed with the authorities in advance, something that he said had not been done in large part on Sunday.

The authorities are concerned opposition activists will try to encourage people to break the law again in future, he said. Peskov "What we saw yesterday in certain places, and especially in Moscow, was a provocation."

He said police had gathered factual evidence that some teenagers, who had been detained, had been paid cash by protest organisers to attend. The demonstrations were also held in a number of provincial cities, where protests are rarely seen.