OREANDA-NEWS. A few criminal cases were opened during opposition protests in Russia. The Moscow police will look for the people, who obstructed traffic at the rally on January 23. They said, that «a number of persons, with intent to bring the deteriorating communication paths in the Moscow city, organized the blocking of roads and sidewalks for pedestrians and vehicles».

On Sunday, January 24, the Main Department of the MIA in Moscow reported, that according to the relevant article of the Criminal Code, a fine of 100 to 300 thousand rubles (about 4 thousand dollars), mandatory work of up to 240 hours, forced labor of up to a year or imprisonment for a year is provided for this action.

Earlier, four criminal cases were initiated by the Investigative Committee in Moscow. According to the their information, the participants of the rally inflicted injuries on two employees of the Russian Guard and one police officer, another police officer was hit by a car.

A number of criminal cases were initiated after the rallies on January 23 in other Russian regions. So, the Investigative Committee opened a case about the beating of two policemen at a rally in St. Petersburg. A criminal case was also opened on the fact of blocking roads and traffic in Vladivostok.

In Russia, according to the results of mass protests against the arrest of Alexei Navalny, the number of detainees amounted to 3,666 people, the human rights portal «OVD-Info» estimated. This is a record number for all the time of protest events in the modern history of Russia. The day before, the rallies were held in more than 120 cities of the Russian Federation and more than 70 – abroad.