Thousands of Russians took to the streets to protest the sentencing of opposition leader Aleksei Navalny to a prison term of nearly three years. Russian security forces cracked down hard on the demonstrators on February 2 and the early morning hours of February 3. Independent monitoring group OVD-Info reported police detained more than 1,400 people.
Russian Police Crack Down On Protests After Navalny Sentencing
![Police detain a man in St. Petersburg.](https://gdb.rferl.org/156073d8-ea5c-4c9f-a28e-9722c8c89ca7_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
1
Police detain a man in St. Petersburg.
![Protesters march in Moscow on February 2, calling for the release of Navalny.](https://gdb.rferl.org/0d798889-ee87-4343-9f0f-594e585a79d5_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
2
Protesters march in Moscow on February 2, calling for the release of Navalny.
![A journalist watches a livestream of the Navalny sentencing hearing as National Guard soldiers stand in front of the court in Moscow. The court converted a years-old suspended sentence to a prison term for a financial-crime conviction widely seen as politically motivated.](https://gdb.rferl.org/290da7e2-1e82-494a-a2a3-43da1c4ab5d1_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
3
A journalist watches a livestream of the Navalny sentencing hearing as National Guard soldiers stand in front of the court in Moscow. The court converted a years-old suspended sentence to a prison term for a financial-crime conviction widely seen as politically motivated.
![Law enforcement officers deploy in downtown St. Petersburg.](https://gdb.rferl.org/113155eb-4bf0-44a9-8572-4ed04451a593_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
4
Law enforcement officers deploy in downtown St. Petersburg.
![Navalny makes a heart symbol for his wife, Yulia, while standing in a cell during his Moscow court hearing on February 2.](https://gdb.rferl.org/adfa5588-cdaa-4951-af32-bc3c1bd06fee_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
5
Navalny makes a heart symbol for his wife, Yulia, while standing in a cell during his Moscow court hearing on February 2.
![Yulia Navalnaya walks out of the Moscow court after it sentenced her husband to prison.](https://gdb.rferl.org/5f5cc06e-6d94-42cf-8a7b-16e0b3370793_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
6
Yulia Navalnaya walks out of the Moscow court after it sentenced her husband to prison.
![Security forces stand guard in front of a monument to Soviet Marshal Georgy Zhukov outside Red Square in Moscow.](https://gdb.rferl.org/d36dee3c-8831-4eab-a958-6f7523af2be1_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
7
Security forces stand guard in front of a monument to Soviet Marshal Georgy Zhukov outside Red Square in Moscow.
![Security forces march through Moscow's Manezh Square.](https://gdb.rferl.org/b8d46dcb-529f-4de0-96b8-010c6cfd6d59_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
8
Security forces march through Moscow's Manezh Square.
![Police violently detain a man on Red Square in Moscow.](https://gdb.rferl.org/033b2722-ec42-4524-993d-3ba8b2b996f3_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
9
Police violently detain a man on Red Square in Moscow.
![Police flood the streets in Moscow.](https://gdb.rferl.org/f4b99568-b87b-4798-bd83-88b3e749e847_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
10
Police flood the streets in Moscow.
![Detainees are held in a police van in downtown Moscow on February 2.](https://gdb.rferl.org/6f6746a2-9654-4835-9994-8db5176386a2_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
11
Detainees are held in a police van in downtown Moscow on February 2.
![A police officer searches a detainee in downtown Moscow early on February 3.](https://gdb.rferl.org/0c50daab-93d0-45fe-bf81-42d6a59d5189_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
12
A police officer searches a detainee in downtown Moscow early on February 3.
![Riot police violently detain a Navalny supporter in Moscow.](https://gdb.rferl.org/36d76cc0-6fe3-4c29-aa9f-b0ffe2ce63c2_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
13
Riot police violently detain a Navalny supporter in Moscow.
![A man drapes a Russian flag across his back as he marches through Moscow in support of Navalny.](https://gdb.rferl.org/b5a8399c-c916-4afa-82f5-0c44d332c934_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
14
A man drapes a Russian flag across his back as he marches through Moscow in support of Navalny.
![Detainees are herded onto buses in Moscow.](https://gdb.rferl.org/9f416b6d-e021-4569-9dc8-fc082ad04fa2_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
15
Detainees are herded onto buses in Moscow.
![People run from security forces in Moscow early on February 3.](https://gdb.rferl.org/e842141e-b2f7-4034-b6be-2521ab1aa402_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
16
People run from security forces in Moscow early on February 3.
![A woman is detained in St. Petersburg on February 2.](https://gdb.rferl.org/5d37f2c8-8051-423c-9eb8-8e7f24b80c35_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
17
A woman is detained in St. Petersburg on February 2.
![Detainees are taken away in Moscow.](https://gdb.rferl.org/ba9bff8d-2741-47ae-9436-693a23c581d6_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
18
Detainees are taken away in Moscow.