A leader of Russia’s opposition movement, the Leftist Front, Sergei Udaltsov was released on Wednesday from jail after serving a 25-day detention term, a police source said.
“The administrative arrest has been lifted and he [Udaltsov] has been released,” the source in the police told RIA Novosti.
A group of journalists and supporters met Udaltsov, whose 15-day detention term was extended on December 25 by another 10 days, at the detention centre in southern Moscow district.
The opposition leader was arrested on December 4 over the fact that he has not served the full term of his previous administrative arrest and escaped from a hospital.
Udaltsov, who has gone on a hunger strike in protest and was twice hospitalized during his detention, said after the release that he wanted to have a rest and recuperate.
“There is a certain movement going on here. It’s not just a temporary trend, it’s the people have woken up,” Udaltsov said, referring to the recent anti-government protests that scattered across Russia, following the parliamentary elections on December 4 that were allegedly marred by numerous fraud and violations in favor of the ruling United Russia party.
The next popular protest, demanding liberal reforms in Russia, is scheduled for early February, a month ahead the March presidential elections where Prime Minister Vladimir Putin views himself as the main contender.
