You're reading: Russian opposition activists rally on Red Square

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities have allowed several hundred opposition activists to gather on Red Square, but later arrested a prominent opposition leader when she tried to put up a tent there.

Opposition supporters wearing white ribbons, the symbol of peaceful protest against Vladimir Putin’s rule, walked around the square Sunday under close watch by police.

But Yevgeniya Chirikova, the leader of the Khimki Forest group, was quickly arrested along with several other activists when she tried to put up a small tent on the square.

Putin faced unprecedented protests by tens of thousands of people in the months before the presidential election in March. Since his victory, the street protests have dwindled.