leader Garry Kasparov and former Prime Minister of Russia and People Democratic Union leader Mikhail Kasyanov. Sergey Gulyayev, Mikhail Amosov and Natalya Yevdokimova, Democratic faction deputies in the Saint Petersburg Legislative Assembly who represented Yabloko, and Maxim Reznik, leader of the party in Saint Petersburg, took part in the protest, as well as other Saint Petersburg citizens of different ages and political persuasions. Gulyayev was elected chairman of the organizing committee. Preventive countermeasures Governor Valentina Matviyenko, appearing on Channel 5 news bulletins on Friday evening (March 2), warned people not to join those she called extremists. Warnings were broadcast on public address systems in the underground advising people to stay away from the rally. The police raided apartments of Saint Petersburg opposition activists early on Saturday morning and quite a few were pulled out of trains heading for St. Petersburg from Petrozavodsk and Murmansk. Number of demonstrators The rally became one of the biggest demonstrations of the opposition in recent years. Police stated that 800 participated in the march. According to correspondent of Vedomosti newspaper, there were more than 2,000 participants. Interfax news agency estimated the number of participant between 2,000 and 3,000. Saint Petersburg internet newspaper Fontanka.ru wrote that from 2,000 to 5,000 took part in the march. Newsru reported that the rally collected about 4,000 to 6,000 demonstrators. According to claims by Garry Kasparov the total number was around 6,000 protestors. On the article written at Daily Journal (ej.ru), Garry Kasparov stated that he believes around 7,000 individuals were taking part in the March, and on Nevsky Prospect, the main avenue of St. Petersburg, around 4,500 marched. Liberal opposition news website Grani.ru alleged that around 8,000–10,000 were participating in the march. The largest number was claimed by the leader of NDSM, Yulia Malysheva, who claimed there were 15,000 participants. Russian police dispersed the protesters, detaining 113 people. According to police, all of the detainees were released shortly except for two bodyguards of Eduard Limonov, who got 15 days of arrest for "organization of mass disorders". Most of the detainees were convicted and given money penalties. Course of events Despite the fact that the organizers had been denied permission for the rally by the city authorities, several thousand people defied the ban, facing about 3,000 police officers and OMON summoned up from St. Petersburg, the Republic of Karelia, Pskov, and Vladimir. They broke through several OMON cordons and marched