Russian opposition leader and activists held before Putin inauguration

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and around 1,600 anti-Kremlin activists were detained by police on Saturday during street protests against Vladimir Putin ahead of his inauguration for a fourth term as president.

Navalny had called for demonstrations in more than 90 towns and cities across Russia against what he says is Putin's autocratic, tsar-like rule.

Before his detention, he briefly addressed supporters in central Moscow, leading them in chants of 'Down with the Tsar!".

"They said that this city belongs to Putin. Is that right?" Navalny asked his supporters. "Do you need a tsar?" he asked, eliciting a collective roar of "No!"

Putin won re-election overwhelmingly in March, extending his grip over Russia for six more years—a tenure of 24 years that would make him Moscow's longest-serving leader since Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.