Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been arrested after his supporters staged demonstrations against the forthcoming presidential election. In chaotic scenes which were caught on camera, he was bundled into a police van. Earlier police used an angle-grinder to break into his online TV channel and make arrests.
Navalny is barred from standing in the election due a fraud conviction which he contests as politically motivated.
He has long been a critic of President Putin and has called for a boycott of what he says are rigged presidential elections, set to take place in March.