Over 5,000 protest against Putin in Moscow: police

Some 5,500 people were gathering in Moscow for the first major opposition rally after Vladimir Putin’s crushing victory in Russian presidential elections, police in the capial said.

The opposition supporters were thronging the central Pushkin Square in front of a stage emblazoned with the slogan “For fair elections”. Meanwhile, police said that 15,000 people were taking part in a counter rally in support of the Russian strongman outside the Kremlin walls.