Putin Opposition Leaders Detained

(Reuters) - Russian police on Tuesday detained two opposition leaders for staging an overnight sit-in against Vladimir Putin’s return to the Kremlin for a six-year term that has sparked a new wave of protests against the country’s rulers.

Alexei Navalny and Sergei Udaltsov, two of the most charismatic organizers of protests that have shaken Putin’s authority, were among several hundred demonstrators who spent the night in a park near the Kremlin administration offices.

The protesters also criticized a job swap between Russia’s two top leaders that will be completed when former president Dmitry Medvedev is confirmed as the new prime minister later on Tuesday by the State Duma, the lower house of parliament.

Many Russians say the swap, announced last September, shows how Putin has stripped them of any say in politics and it helped prompt the biggest opposition protests of Putin’s 12-year domination of Russia.

“Everything as always has been decided without consulting the people … People don’t like this,” said Ilya Ponamaryov, another opposition leader at the protest.

Police detained the two other leaders before daybreak, along with a few other protesters. The crowd of about 200 people shouted “Shame!”

The Duma, in which Putin and Medvedev’s United Russia party are the biggest force, was due to meet at 3 p.m. (1100 GMT) to rubber-stamp Putin’s nomination of his long-term ally.

Riot police clashed with protesters in Moscow on Sunday and detained more than 400, including anti-corruption blogger Navalny and left-wing leader Udaltsov, who were released on Monday after courts fined them 1,000 roubles ($33) apiece.

While Putin was being sworn in on Monday, police cleared central Moscow streets and confronted groups of peaceful protesters several times, detaining 300 more.

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