Thousands of opponents of Russian President-elect Vladimir Putin demonstrated in central Moscow on Saturday, March 10, in protest at recent presidential elections won by the Russian leader which they claim were unfair.

Organizers of the rally, held under the banner “For Fair Elections” used in other mass opposition demonstrations earlier this winter, were given permission by Moscow authorities to hold a three-hour rally along a major thoroughfare in the Russian capital.

Police estimated the size of the crowd at 10,000 people as the rally got under way at 1:30 pm. (0930 GMT). Many participants continued to arrive after that and a speaker on the stage an hour later put the number at around 25 000, RIA Novosti reported..