UPDATE 3-Navalny ally urges Russians to light candles in Valentine's Day protest
* Some 11,000 arrested in protests so far
* Volkov says new tactic distances protesters from police
* Authorities accuse Navalny allies of being NATO agents(Adds call for human protest chain in Moscow, sanctions appealto UK)
By Tom Balmforth and Anton Kolodyazhnyy
MOSCOW, Feb 9 (Reuters) - An ally of Kremlin critic AlexeiNavalny urged Russians on Tuesday to gather near their homes fora brief Valentine's Day protest this weekend, shining theirmobile phone torches and lighting candles in heart shapes toflood social media.
Tens of thousands have taken to the streets in recent weeksto protest against the jailing of Navalny, a prominent critic ofPresident Vladimir Putin, who says he is being persecuted forpolitical reasons.
Police have detained more than 11,000 people at what theysay were unsanctioned protests that the Kremlin has condemned asillegal and dangerous.
Leonid Volkov, a Navalny ally based outside Russia, calledon people to gather in residential courtyards near their homesat 1700 GMT on Sunday and to stand there for several minutesshining their mobile phone torches.
He said the format, reminiscent of tactics used by theanti-government opposition in neighbouring Belarus, should helpdistance protesters from the police.
He suggested people bring candles and make heart shapes withthem to mark Valentine's Day, and photograph them from above inan event he said would last just 15 minutes.
Supporters, he said, could then flood social media withimages of the protest. The idea for the candles was inspired bythe heart sign Navalny made to his wife in court as he wasjailed, Volkov said.
"Thought you were the only one in the whole big block who isnot indifferent to what's happening in the country? You'll seethat's not the case," he wrote in a post on the Telegrammessenger.
"No OMON (riot police), no fear. Maybe it'll seem like these15 minutes will change nothing - but in fact they will changeeverything."
Separately, an activist called on women to form a humanchain on a pedestrianised street in central Moscow to showsolidarity for Navalny's wife Yulia and women who have beencaught in the police crackdown over the protests.
"CAT AND MOUSE"
Volkov's announcement prompted the Russian foreign ministryto accuse Navalny's allies of acting as NATO agents and ofreceiving instructions from the military alliance to disruptRussian politics.
Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Volkov had plannedto halt the protests, but then changed his mind after holding avirtual meeting on Monday with representatives of the EuropeanUnion, Britain and the United States.
"This is essentially a meeting of NATO countries. NATO hasinstructed the 'opposition', or rather its agents of influence,on how to continue their undermining work more deviously."
The Kremlin said anyone who broke the law would be broughtto account.
"We're not going to play cat and mouse with anyone, butthere's no doubt our law enforcement agencies will hold theguilty parties to account if the law is broken," Kremlinspokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Navalny was arrested in January after returning to Russiafor the first time since being poisoned last August in Siberiawith what many Western countries said was a nerve agent. TheKremlin has questioned whether he was really poisoned.
He was jailed on Feb. 2 after a court ruled he had violatedthe terms of a suspended sentence in an embezzlement case hesays was trumped up.
The case has sparked tensions between Russia and the Westand renewed talk of sanctions.
On Tuesday, Vladimir Ashurkov, a Navalny ally, published aletter addressed to British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab urgingLondon to target a list of 35 people identified as being closeto Putin.
(Reporting by Anton Kolodyazhnyy, Anton Zverev and DmitryAntonov; Writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Andrew Osborn andAlison Williams)