Meanwhile, opposition supporters, including Union of Right Forces member Boris Nemtsov, held a rotating solo picket Wednesday at city police headquarters on Ulitsa Petrovka demanding Kasparov’s release; under Russian law, a one-man picket does not qualify as a demonstration needing permission.
Members of the vehemently pro-Putin youth group Nashi, however, encircled one of the picketers, Alexander Novikov, pretending to be his supporters and prompting police to arrest him.