People could be seen with their elbows linked, forming chains, chanting "Freedom!" and "Give back our money

A policeman detains a man while protesters try to help him, during a protest in St. Petersburg on Sunday against the detention of opposition leader Alexey Navalny.
Russia's interior ministry warned citizens not to participate in the "unauthorized" protests in an Instagram post. Russian federal law requires organizers to file an appeal with local authorities at least 10 days in advance to obtain permission to hold a protest.
The warning was followed by a police response that was ratcheted up both in numbers and ruthlessness of tactics from the week prior. https://www.buymeacoffee.com/demonInfinity/n-a-453048
Officers were seen using stun guns on people who did not seem to resist detention, a method that hasn't been previously reported by detainees at protests in Russia. In St. Petersburg, one police officer was filmed pointing what appeared to be a firearm at protesters.
A CNN team on the ground next to Matrosskaya Tishina saw people dragged away face down in the snow. "I can't breathe," one man said as police officers pushed him to the ground, according to a video shared online from the city of Chelyabinsk.
In chaotic scenes from Vladivostok and Yekaterinburg, protesters were seen pushed out onto the frozen ice of rivers and bays before being detained.
In the city of Novosibirsk, in Siberia, live video showed police detaining drivers who were honking their car horns in support of the protesters. In response, demonstrators were heard chanting: "Let them go!"
People could be seen with their elbows linked, forming chains, chanting "Freedom!" and "Give back our money!" as they stood in front of the city hall in the center of Novosibirsk. Rows of riot police were standing in front of them.
Protesters marching along the snowy streets could be heard chanting: "Russia without Putin!" and "one for all, and all for one."
Demonstrators take part in an unauthorised protest Sunday in support of Navalny in central Novosibirsk.
Demonstrators take part in an unauthorised protest Sunday in support of Navalny in central Novosibirsk.
Riot police detain a man during a rally in support of jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny in the far eastern city of Vladivostok on Sunday.
Riot police detain a man during a rally in support of jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny in the far eastern city of Vladivostok on Sunday.
Putin's plunging ratings
Putin saw his ratings plunge to historic lows last year as grievances built up among the public over the declining personal incomes, diminishing personal freedoms, and the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
A day after Navalny's arrest, his team poured fuel over the growing dissatisfaction by releasing a bombshell two-hour long documentary into a lavish property at the Black Sea they estimate to cost around $1.4 billion, which they allege was created for Putin.
Putin, who once scored points among voters with populist statements about the Russian government's battle against widespread corruption, denied having any links to the palace, but the film seemed to have struck a nerve with the Kremlin.
Navalny releases investigation into decadent billion-dollar 'Putin palace'
Navalny releases investigation into decadent billion-dollar 'Putin palace'
In the days leading up to the protests, Mash, a channel on the encrypted messaging app Telegram with links to a pro-government media holding, posted an interview with Putin's close childhood friend Arkady Rotenberg, a billionaire mostly inaccessible to journalists. Rotenberg claimed he owned the property and announced he was building a hotel there.
"Our entire investigation is about Putin using his best friends to hide his assets. In response, the Kremlin shows Rotenberg and declares him the owner of the palace," Maria Pevchikh, one of the investigation's authors, said in a tweet. "They think that they are saving the situation, but in fact they are doing the exact opposite."

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Many protesters CNN spoke to during this and last weekend's protests said they were already disenchanted with the government, but Navalny's detention and his investigation into Putin pushed them to take to the streets.
Some said they never protested before out of fear of repercussions.
"It all influenced me to come here today because I saw that they violated the law right in front of everyone," Mikhail, 27, told CNN on Sunday near one of the subway stops where police were detaining people en masse.
Police detentions in Moscow
The Kremlin's preparations for the weekend protest were not limited to barricades and cordons. Navalny's key allies were all detained more than 10 days ago in an apparent effort to stifle the unrest. Many, including Navalny's brother Oleg, have been under house arrest for the past two months. https://www.buymeacoffee.com/whathmovienow/n-a-453439
Last week, however, the circle of wanted activists expanded widely.
Among the most shocking cases was that of Anna Vellikok. She was held for 14 days after her arrest for retweeting her boyfriend, Anti-Corruption Foundation investigator Georgy Alburov, one of the filmmakers of the documentary that investigated the Black Sea property. https://www.buymeacoffee.com/whathmovienow/n-a-453476
According to materials in the case that Vellikok posted, Vellikok was detained and subsequently arrested for retweeting Alburov's post that linked to a YouTube video where Navalny urged people to protest from inside a court hearing.
The judge ruled that by retweeting it, she instigated unsanctioned rallies.

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Yulia Navalnaya's husband was poisoned and detained. Now she is piling pressure on Vladimir Putin
Yulia Navalnaya's husband was poisoned and detained. Now she is piling pressure on Vladimir Putin
"Of course, they are giving me 14 days not for tweets and retweets, but for the fact that the video about Putin's palace has become so popular. Because so many people took to the streets. Because I'm dating (Georgy)," she tweeted from the court room on Saturday.