Dozens of protesters arrested in central Russia

Russian police have detained 85 protesters who attended an unsanctioned opposition rally in the city of Nizhny Novgorod. Most were later released. Authorities estimate that some 100 people took part in the “For Fair Elections” demonstration on Saturday. Only eight protesters are still being detained, a spokesperson for Nizhny Novgorod police told Itar-Tass news agency late on Saturday. The demonstration came as some 10,000 people took to the streets of Moscow to protest the results of recent presidential elections which saw Vladimir Putin winning 63.6 per cent of the vote. The opposition believes the presidential poll was rigged with various techniques to ensure Putin’s landslide victory.