Thousands of Russian people turned out to protest Russian President Vladimir Putin's birthday on Oct. 7. Although Putin's hometown, St. Petersburg, was the primary site of the protests, the opposition said rallies of varying sizes were held in some 80 cities (Russia's Interior Ministry claimed the number was 26). The protesters took up the cause of incarcerated opposition leader Alexei Navalny, chanting pro-Navalny and anti-Putin slogans. Navalny and several of his supporters were arrested last week to prevent their participation in the rallies, and police cracked down on many of the protests -- though not as heavily as they have on other demonstrations in recent months. Some 260 protesters were detained, a fraction of the more than 1,000 arrested in June....
