Russian police quickly dispersed peaceful protests against President Vladimir Putin’s reservist mobilization order, arresting hundreds of people, including children, in several cities across the country.
Authorities detained more than 700 people, including 300 in Moscow and nearly 150 in St. Petersburg, according to OVD-Info, an independent website that monitors political arrests in Russia. Some of those arrested were minors, said OVD-Info.
The demonstrations followed protests that erupted on Wednesday after Putin, in a move to try to strengthen his volunteer forces in Ukraine, announced a call-up for experienced army reservists.
The Defense Ministry said some 300,000 people would be called up for active duty, but the order left the door open for many more to be called up. Most Russian men between the ages of 18 and 65 count as reservists.
On Saturday, authorities deployed police to cities where the opposition group Vesna and supporters of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny called for protests. Police moved quickly to arrest the mostly young protesters before they could hold protests.
In Moscow, a strong contingent of policemen were touring a downtown area where a protest was planned and checking the documents of passers-by. The agents detained those they considered suspicious.
A young woman climbed onto a bench and yelled, “We are not cannon fodder!” before being led away by police.
In St. Petersburg, small groups of protesters managed to congregate and shout protest slogans before being arrested.
In the eastern Siberian city of Novosibirsk, more than 70 people were arrested after singing an innocuous Soviet-era peace song.
In another Siberian city, Irkutsk, police served summonses to conscription offices for men who participated in protests.
People who tried to hold individual protests, which are permitted under Russian law, were also detained.
The swift police response follows Wednesday’s crackdown on protests, when 1,300 people were detained in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities.
On Saturday, Putin signed a hastily passed law toughening punishments for soldiers who disobey officers’ orders, desert or surrender to the enemy.