Over 3,300 protesters held in Russia after demonstrations in support of jailed Kremlin critic

Moscow: More than 3,300 protesters were arrested at demonstrations in support of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, a monitor reported Sunday, as prosecutors probed possible violence "on the part of law enforcement".

Police clashed with demonstrators in Moscow as tens of thousands took to the streets across the country on Saturday following Navalny's call to protest against President Vladimir Putin's rule, AFP reported on Sunday. Putin's most charismatic critic was detained at a Moscow airport on arrival a week ago from Germany, where he had been recovering from a near-fatal poisoning with a nerve agent.

OVD Info, which monitors opposition rallies, said on Sunday that police seized at least 3,324 demonstrators across dozens of cities, with 1,320 people detained in Moscow and 490 in the second city Saint Petersburg.

It was the largest number of detentions at opposition rallies in the history of modern Russia.

A number of protesters were injured at the rallies in the capital and Saint Petersburg.

Meanwhile, the spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin says the US Embassy's statements about the nationwide protests interfere in the country's domestic affairs and encourage Russians to break the law. During the protests, embassy spokeswoman Rebecca Ross said on Twitter that the US supports the right of all people to peaceful protest, freedom of expression.