Several opposition activists were detained on Sunday, November 17, on downtown Moscow’s Red Square, according to reports from the local police and journalists.

      The police said five people had been detained and taken to a police station for violating public order. At the same time, the Novaya Gazeta newspaper said eight people had been held.

      The newspaper said the protest's participants tried to unfold three banners that read “My country has been seized by enemies,” “Resist” and “You can’t jail everyone.”

      As reporters say, the action was made on a "chain reaction" principle, when the next banner appeared after the police arrested the person who had unfolded the previous one.

      Red Square is a special area adjacent to the Kremlin, the residence of the Russian president. Any public rallies, including one-man pickets, are prohibited there. However, it doesn't stop opposition activists from trying to hold protest actions at this place.