Police on Saturday arrested hundreds of ultranationalists who were among thousands who took to the streets in Moscow to protest a ban on far-right demonstrations.

Some 2,000 ultranationalists rallied on a square in central Moscow proclaiming the superiority of ethnic Russians, some waving the flags of radical parties, some stretching out their hands in a Nazi-style salute.

Several hundred riot police, some wearing black helmet and wielding truncheons, surrounded the square and detained hundreds demonstrators.

Rallies also took place on Saturday in more than 20 other cities, including St. Petersburg, Krasnodar in southern Russia, Blagoveshchensk in the Russian Far East and the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, according to the organizers.

The decision by authorities to ban the far-right demonstrations marked an effort to dispel accusations that the government is doing little to combat rising xenophobia in Russia.

Russia has seen a rise in hate crimes against dark-skinned foreigners, Jews and immigrants from Central Asia and the Caucasus. This year alone, 39 people have been killed and 308 others attacked in apparent hate crimes, according to the Sova rights center.

Source: Xinhua