The Kremlin said on Monday that a large number of people who took part in protests against the jailing of opposition politician Alexei Navalny on Sunday were "hooligans and provocateurs".
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call that dialogue with such people would be impossible, a day after Navalny's allies staged protests in Moscow and dozens of cities across Russia.
"There can be no conversation with hooligans and provocateurs," Peskov said.