The demonstrators, who came together for an opposition demonstration known as a March of Dissent in the city, carried flags and shouted slogans like “shame on the authorities”, and handed out leaflets. Protestors called for the resignation of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, and said the authorities should be changed, and not the Russian constitution. The meeting took place in the Chernyshevsky Gardens, and was sanctioned by city authorities.

Police were present at the event as well, but did not interfere with the demonstration. Activists also noted a heightened presence of police in the city center.

As the event went on, around 10 young men arrived at the meeting, bearing signs that said “Free Khodorkovsky,” “Obama,” and “We are for a nuclear-free Russia.” Other protestors took their signs and identified them as instigators.

Speakers at the meeting warned that “in the near future, pay and pensions will be delayed, there will be mass layoffs and growth in prices,” and blamed the economic crisis on “irresponsible policies” by former President and current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

According to St. Petersburg police, 60 demonstrators were arrested, mostly in the center of the city and not at the main protest.

One of the event’s organizers, Olga Kurnosova, reported that her home had been surrounded by squad cars since early morning. Kurnosova, who heads the local branch of the United Civil Front party, became ill during the day and called for an ambulance. The ambulance was stopped and questioned by the officers as it arrived. At the moment, Kurnosova is in a clinic ward, with three officers from the UBOP organized crime squad standing by.

Roman Nikolaychik, an activist from the Russian branch of the international ARES movement, has been sent to a psychiatric hospital without charges or explanation. According to Yevgeniy Svetovidov, the organization’s Moscow press-secretary, Nikolaychik was apprehended on Friday, and has not been heard from since.

Svetovidov told Novaya Gazeta that Nikolaychik’s telephone was not receiving calls. Family and friends have not been told which asylum he has been taken to.

The ARES movement is presently working to free the activist. Svetovidov noted that local law enforcement have been unresponsive, and have refused to provide any assistance.

In addition to his work with ARES, Nikolaychik is involved with The Other Russia coalition and has run for office to the State Duma as an opposition candidate.

A statement released by ARES noted that an unfounded criminal investigation for attempted murder had been mounted against Nikolaychik. The “victim” who brought forth the accusation tried to extort money from Nikolaychik, saying she would drop charges for a sum. The criminal investigator assigned to the case ignored several witnesses, who were with Nikolaychik and vouched that he was several kilometers away from the “crime scene.”

“Seeing the obvious absurdity of the fabricated accusation, and anticipating that the case would simply fall apart, the security services decided to employ punitive psychiatry in relation to Nikolaychik, and he was sent for detention to a psychiatric clinic…” Svetovidov said.

“The current process has an obviously political nature, with Nikolaychik’s political position and his involvement with The Other Russia coalition serving as its cause,” the ARES statement reads.

According to the organization, Nikolaychik has been repeatedly detained and threatened with bodily harm from agents of Russia’s security ministries, including the FSB and the Unit for Fighting Organized Crime (UBOP).

Chervochkin’s close associates implicated the UBOP Special Forces in his death. As the National Bolshevik website reported, UBOP officers had repeatedly threatened the youth. “Yury’s death symbolizes new times for the whole opposition. The authoritarian regime in Russia has irrevocably changed into a dictatorial one, and the first corpse of a political opponent has appeared before Putin’s successor,” a statement on the site said.

Yury Chervochkin was on the Parliamentary candidate list of the Other Russia opposition coalition for the Moscow Oblast. On November 22, 2007, he was violently beaten in the Moscow suburb of Serpukhov. He was found unconscious near the entranceway to his building. UBOP officers have claimed that Chervochkin was found in a different place, contradicting witnesses.

An hour before the attack, the young activist called into the editorial offices of the Sobkor®ru news agency, and told them that he was being watched by four UBOP agents. He recognized them from previous encounters, when he had been detained.

An investigation into the attack was only launched after Chervochkin died, much to the dismay and astonishment of family members. His mother, Nadezhda Chervochkina, was repeatedly turned away from militsiya offices, told that “no suspects have been apprehended,” and told that there was no inquiry taking place.

“They didn’t do anything for three weeks, and not they won’t let me bury my son. They are planning to keep him in the morgue for six months,” she told reporters.