On Saturday, March 23, nine opposition activists were detained by the Moscow police over an attempt to hold an unauthorized rally on Red Square.

      The information came from Russian opposition figurehead Sergei Udaltsov's Twitter. He wrote that the activists were detained during series of solo piquets in support those detained over the May 6 riots on Bolotnaya Square in central Moscow.

      The participants were standing at long range from each other and handing out leaflets with the portraits of "political prisoners". Still, the Moscow police considered that action as an unauthorized protest rally. The entrance to the Red Square was even closed for some time. The next day all the detainees were released after drawing up a report on administrative infractions.

      The May 6 protest rally has led to the so-called “Bolotnaya case,” in which more than a dozen defendants face charges ranging from inciting mass unrest to using violent force against law enforcement officials.