Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was arrested Sunday in Moscow after calling for protests around the country, which raged on around Russia.
Russian police raided Navalny’s Moscow office Sunday morning, according to the Associated Press. The police claimed it was because of a bomb threat, though they detained the man who works at Navalny’s Moscow coordinator when they raided the office.
Later, Navalny tweeted that he himself had been detained, reportedly while walking to join the Moscow protest. A dramatic video posted to Twitter shows police detaining Navalny and forcing him into a police vehicle.
Задержание одного человека теряет малейший смысл, если нас много. Кто-нибудь, придите и замените меня pic.twitter.com/TODVdF5lEm
— Alexey Navalny (@navalny) January 28, 2018
Despite his arrest, Navalny called for the protests to continue.
“They have detained me,” he wrote on Twitter. “This doesn’t mean anything … you didn’t come out for me, but for your future.”
And the protests have continued Sunday. Many marchers reportedly took to chanting, “Putin is a thief.”
Moscow Police said Navalny was taken to a police station for arraignment and to be charged for illegally organizing a protest, according to CNN. If found guilty, he faces 30 days in detention and a fine.
Sizable gatherings, from a few dozen to several hundred, reportedly cropped up around Russia after Navalny called for protests.
There was even a protest in the remote Yakutsk, where the temperature was reportedly minus-49 F. Protesters in Yakutsk and around the country were calling for a boycott of the upcoming election. Putin is running for a fourth term, and Navalny — the long-prominent face of opposition to Putin — has been blocked from running.
In a Facebook post, Navalny thanked everyone who had taken to the streets Sunday.
Skirmishes between police and protestors as anti-Putin rally blocks road outside Manège pic.twitter.com/t2uDVfMQyr
— Henry Foy (@HenryJFoy) January 28, 2018