Around 20,000 Russian opposition supporters gathered for a protest on Monday, venting anger against the Kremlin and demanding the release of political prisoners, according to AP. Participants in Monday's rally, which went peacefully amid heavy police cordons, urged the authorities to free more than two dozen people facing criminal charges over their involvement in the protest a year ago. The opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, urged the demonstrators Monday to "throw (Putin) out of the Kremlin." He ended his speech with a chant "Russia will be free!" that was repeated by the crowd. Putin was in the Kremlin during the protest and aware of it, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on the independent Dozhd TV. A small scuffle erupted when a small group of pro-Putin activists shouted provocative slogans. Police escorted them away.
