Nearly 1600 reported arrested in Russian anti-Putin protests

Russians angered by the impending inauguration of Vladimir Putin to a new term as president protested Saturday in scores of cities across the country — and police responded by reportedly arresting nearly 1,600 of them.

Russian police carrying struggling opposition leader Alexei Navalny, center, at a demonstration against President Vladimir Putin in Pushkin Square in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, May 5, 2018. (AP Photo)

Among those arrested was protesting organizer Alexei Navalny, the anti-corruption campaigner who is Putin's most prominent foe. Police seized Navalny by the arms and legs and carried the thrashing activist from Moscow's Pushkin Square, where thousands were gathered for an unauthorized protest.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, center, gestures as he speaks using a loudspeaker at a demonstration against President Vladimir Putin in Pushkin Square in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, May 5, 2018.  (AP Photo/Dmitry Serebryakov)

A protester tries to break through a police line during a demonstration against President Vladimir Putin in Pushkin Square in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, May 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Dmitry Serebryakov)

Protesters shout anti-government slogans behind a police line at a demonstration against President Vladimir Putin in Pushkin Square in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, May 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Dmitry Serebryakov)

Police also used batons against protesters who chanted "Putin is a thief!" and "Russia will be free!"

Demonstrations under the slogan "He is not our czar" took place throughout the country, from Yakutsk in the far northeast to St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad on the fringes of Europe.

Russian police detain a protester at a demonstration against President Vladimir Putin in Pushkin Square in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, May 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

Russian police detain a protester at a demonstration against President Vladimir Putin in Pushkin Square in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, May 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

The protests demonstrated that Navalny's opposition, although considered beleaguered by Russian officials and largely ignored by state-controlled television, has sizeable support in much of the country.

"I think that Putin isn't worthy of leading this country. He has been doing it for 18 years and has done nothing good for it," said Moscow demonstrator Dmitry Nikitenko. "He should leave for good."

Russian police push protesters back during a demonstration against President Vladimir Putin in Pushkin Square in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, May 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

Russian police push protesters back during a demonstration against President Vladimir Putin in Pushkin Square in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, May 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

OVD-Info, an organization that monitors political repression, said late Saturday that 1,599 people had been detained at demonstrations in 26 Russian cities. It said 702 were arrested in Moscow alone, and another 232 in St. Petersburg.

Moscow police said about 300 people were detained in the capital, state news agencies said, and there was no official countrywide tally.

Protesters shout anti-government slogans behind a police line at a demonstration against President Vladimir Putin in Pushkin Square in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, May 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

Protesters shout anti-government slogans behind a police line at a demonstration against President Vladimir Putin in Pushkin Square in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, May 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

"Let my son go!" Iraida Nikolaeva screamed, running after police in Moscow when they detained her son. "He did not do anything! Are you a human or not? Do you live in Russia or not?"

Navalny was to be charged with disobeying police, an offense that carries a sentence of up to 15 days, news reports said, though when he would face a judge was not immediately clear. Navalny has served several multi-week stretches in jail on similar charges.

Russian police detain a protester at a demonstration against President Vladimir Putin in Pushkin Square in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, May 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

Russian police push protesters back during a demonstration against President Vladimir Putin in Pushkin Square in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, May 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

In St. Petersburg, police blocked off a stretch of Nevsky Prospekt as a crowd of about 1,000 marched along the renowned avenue. The video showed some demonstrators being detained.

Putin is to be inaugurated for a new six-year term on Monday after winning re-election in March with 77 percent of the vote. Navalny had hoped to challenge him on the ballot but was blocked because of a felony conviction in a case that supporters regard as falsified in order to marginalize him.

Russian police detain protesters at a demonstration against President Vladimir Putin in Pushkin Square as Russians angered by the impending inauguration of Vladimir Putin to a new term as the country's president demonstrated throughout the country on Saturday. Police arrested some hundreds, including protest organizer Alexei Navalny, the anti-corruption campaigner who is Putin's most prominent foe. (AP Photo)

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert criticized the actions of the Russian police.

Russian police block protesters during a demonstration against President Vladimir Putin in St.Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, May 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

Russian police detain a protester at a demonstration against President Vladimir Putin in St.Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, May 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

A protester jumps over a police barrier during a demonstration against President Vladimir Putin in Pushkin Square as Russians angered by the impending inauguration of Vladimir Putin to a new term as the country's president demonstrated throughout the country on Saturday. Police arrested hundreds, including protest organizer Alexei Navalny, the anti-corruption campaigner who is Putin's most prominent foe. (AP Photo)

"The United States condemns #Russia's detention of hundreds of peaceful protesters and calls for their immediate release. Leaders who are secure in their own legitimacy don't arrest their peaceful opponents for protesting," she tweeted.

Fighters of National Liberation movement clash with protesters during clashes at a demonstration against President Vladimir Putin in Pushkin Square in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, May 5, 2018. (AP Photo)

Russian police block protesters during a demonstration against President Vladimir Putin in St.Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, May 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

Navalny has called nationwide demonstrations several times in the past year, and their turnout has rattled the Kremlin.

Protesters shout anti-government slogans holding small posters reading ' Russia is us!', 'I'm over it' at a demonstration against President Vladimir Putin in Pushkin Square in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, May 5, 2018. (AP Photo)

Russian police detain a protester at a demonstration against President Vladimir Putin in Pushkin Square in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, May 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

Saturday's protests attracted crowds of hundreds in cities that are far remote from Moscow, challenging authorities' contention that Navalny and other opposition figures appeal only to a small, largely urban elite.

LONDON (AP) — Britain will expel Russia’s defense attaché over spying allegations as part of several measures the government announced Wednesday to target Moscow’s intelligence gathering operations in the U.K.

Home Secretary James Cleverly said the measures were aimed at what he called the “reckless and dangerous activities of the Russian government across Europe."

The latest round of measures will boot the attaché, Maxim Elovik, a Russian colonel who the government termed an “undeclared military intelligence officer.” It will also rescind the diplomatic status of several Russian-owned properties because they are believed to have been used for intelligence purposes, and impose new restrictions on Russian diplomatic visas and visits.

“In the coming days we should expect accusations of Russophobia, conspiracy theories and hysteria from the Russian government,” Cleverly said in Parliament. “This is not new and the British people and the British government will not fall for it, and will not be taken for fools by Putin’s bots, trolls and lackeys.”

Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for Russia’s foreign ministry, told The Associated Press that “Russia will respond in kind.”

The U.K. has had an uneasy relationship with Russia for years, accusing its agents of targeted killings and espionage, including cyberattacks aimed at British parliamentarians and leaking and amplifying sensitive information to serve Russian interests. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Britain has also sanctioned hundreds of wealthy Russians and moved to clamp down on money laundering through London’s property and financial markets.

The government said Wednesday's actions followed criminal cases in London alleging espionage and sabotage by people acting on behalf of Russia.

It also cited allegations that the Russian government planned to sabotage military aid for Ukraine in Germany and Poland and carried out spying in Bulgaria and Italy, along with cyber and disinformation activities, air space violations and jamming GPS signals to hamper civilian air traffic.

“Since the illegal invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s attempts to undermine UK and European security have become increasingly brazen,” Foreign Secretary David Cameron said. “These measures are an unequivocal message to the Russian state — their actions will not go unanswered.”

Elovik has been based in Britain since at least 2020. Russian state news agency Tass said he was summoned to the U.K.’s Defense Ministry the day Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

He has subsequently been pictured laying flowers to Soviet soldiers who died during the Second World War in both London and Manchester.

In this photo released by Russian Embassy in London/Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service, Colonel Maxim Elovik, Russia's military attaché to the United Kingdom and Russian Ambassador to the United Kingdom Andrey Kelin, right, attend a laying wreaths ceremony marking the 79th anniversary of the end of WWII in Europe, at the Soviet war memorial in London, Britain, on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Britain says it is expelling the attaché after accusing him of being a spy. The move announced Wednesday was one of several measures taken by the U.K. against Moscow over what it said were malicious activities. (Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service via AP)