Russian opposition leader Garry Kasparov, the former world chess champion, was detained by police Saturday with the blame of to support the “United Civil Front opposition organization” which tried to hold an anti-kremlin protest march in central Moscow in alliance with other opposition groups who come together under the rubric of Other Russia to protest.

Opposition forces make a wide array of complaints against the Kremlin on political and economic issues, with particular emphasis on complaints that the Kremlin is suppressing democracy.

Thousands of police, many of them in helmets and wielding nightsticks, were at the square and scores of people were detained. Many of those detained went quietly, but some struggled and were forced into police vehicles by officers holding nightsticks around the detainees’ necks.

The weekend marches could be a key test of the Russian opposition’s determination before parliamentary and presidential elections — and a test of how harshly police may move to block their actions

Some 9,000 police were on duty for the march in Moscow. Authorities gave Other Russia permission to hold a rally on Turgenev Square, but denied their request to gather at Pushkin Square, which is one of Moscow’s most well-known and visible public places.

‘’Let them beat me, it won’t change a thing,'’ said German Severtsev, a 72-year-old retiree who said he planned to take part in the march because his pension is inadequate and he can’t find work to supplement his income.

Russia’s mainstream liberal parties, which some critics say have been co-opted by the Kremlin, have largely kept their distance.

Grigory Yavlinsky, who heads the Yabloko party, refused to participate in the Moscow march, saying in a statement that ‘’the ideological and political composition of the these actions are unacceptable for Yabloko.'’

In the run-up to the demonstrations, Moscow’s city council passed strict new regulations on rallies — including a rule limiting the density of protesters to no more than two people per 10 square feet.

This week, prosecutors seized recordings of an Ekho Moskvy radio interview with Limonov, whose National Bolshevik Party is known for its street theater and political pranks targeting Putin.

Since President Vladimir Putin took office in 2000, the Kremlin has moved to centralize power in Russia, created an obedient parliament, abolished direct gubernatorial elections and tightened restrictions on civic groups.

Kremlin critics are now rarely heard on major TV networks.