Tens of thousands rally across Russia in support of opposition leader Navalny

Oriana Gonzalez

Russian police on Saturday arrested more than 1,000 people as protesters nationwide demand that opposition leader Alexey Navalny be released from jail.

The state of play: Demonstrations started in the eastern regions of Russia and spread west in more than 60 cities. At least 1,338 of people have been detained and thousands of others continue to protest despite the presence of law enforcement and extremely low temperatures, per the OVD-Info group, which monitors political arrests.

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Context: The Russian opposition leader was arrested upon his return to Moscow from Germany on Jan. 17, which came five month after a near-fatal poisoning with the nerve agent Novichok. He blamed the Kremlin for the poisoning, though the Kremlin has denied responsibility.

The backstory: Navalny made his name as a video blogger and anti-corruption activist. He has organized some of the largest protests against Putin, who refuses to refer to him by name.

Worth noting: Rebecca Ross, a spokesperson for the U.S. embassy in Moscow, said in a tweet that the "U.S. supports the right of all people to peaceful protest, freedom of expression."

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