Away from Moscow and back to diplomacy:
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has said the United States and its allies are not prepared to play games with Russia and are discussing additional sanctions against the country over its actions in Ukraine.
Kerry made the comments as he began a meeting with British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond in London on February 21.
He said Russia had engaged in “an absolutely brazen and cynical process” during the past days.
He said: "We are talking about additional sanctions."
Hammond also criticized Russia's "breaches" of a cease-fire agreement signed in Minsk last week.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military and Russia-backed separatists accused each other of continuing to mount attacks in eastern Ukraine despite the truce agreement.
Moscow denies it is arming rebels and sending soldiers into Ukraine.
A rather offensive banner held by pro-Kremlin protesters today. Roughly translated it says "We are not Mai-Downs." It's an apparent play on Down syndrome -- the genetic disorder that impairs intellectual growth.
Russian biker gang leader Zaldostanov speaking earlier at the rally today:
"In these days, when all of Russia's enemies are mobilizing I call on you to rally around the President of Russia...there will be no Maidan in Russia."
"Our dean ordered it"
TV Rain's reporter speaking to Moscow demonstrators conducts a pretty entertaining interview. Some bites
Dozhd:Are you activists of Young Guard?
-No.
-They just gave us flags.
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Dozhd: Why did you decide to come here?
-Our dean ordered it.
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Dozhd: Who's in the photos on your poster? (the poster says, "Thieves should sit in prison" and features Aleksei Navalny and his associate, Vladimir Ashurkov)
-Looks like Navalny and the second, I don't know.
According to RIA Novosti, official police estimates put crowd turnout at 35,000. In the past, officials have seemed to under-estimate turnout for opposition protests and over-estimate pro-government rallies.