Writer and radical politician Eduard Limonov, leader of the unregistered Other Russia party, was detained along with about 30 others on Friday at a protest rally at Moscow’s Triumfalnaya Square.
“About 30 people were detained for attempting to hold an unsanctioned rally,” a police officer said, adding that all of them have been taken to police stations.
Another 14 people were detained in St. Petersburg for attempting to hold a parallel unsanctioned rally there, a local police spokesman said.
In June, Russia passed a bill hiking maximal fines for unsanctioned rallies from 1,000 rubles to 300,000 rubles ($30 to $9,300).
Russian opposition groups hold rallies in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities on the last day of each month that has 31 days in defense of their right to freedom of assembly, as enshrined in Article 31 of the Russian Constitution.
