Photo: Dmitry Tsyganov / Novaya Gazeta Europe
At least 47 people were detained in 13 Russian cities on Sunday as Russians headed to the polls at noon to participate in the Noon Against Putin campaign, Russian human rights group OVD-Info reported.
Noon Against Putin, a campaign supported by late opposition leader Alexey Navalny shortly before his death last month, is designed to show the mass turnout of opposition voters in the Russian presidential election by encouraging voters to show up at the polling station at noon on Sunday.
Police detained local resident Alexander Shirshov in the Volga region city of Kazan for arriving at the polling station at 12, he told OVD-Info, adding that around 20 people had been detained alongside him. Voters at other polling stations in Kazan are being directed by police to vote at a later time.
At least seven people were detained in Moscow and five in St. Petersburg.
Lines of people have been reported at polling stations in Russian cities and near Russian embassies abroad.
