Opposition movements stage small actions across Russia.

MOSCOW, August 1 (Itar-Tass) - Opposition movements in various parts
of Russia held minor street actions on Saturday to support article 31 of
the Russian Constitution, the Russian Interior Ministry press service
reports.
Article 31 grants Russian citizens the right to hold assemblies,
rallies and demonstrations. Russian opposition stages rallies and pickets
annually on July 31. Few people took part in them this year. The Russian
Interior Ministry reports that seven people set up a picket in
Blagoveshchensk, fifteen people held a rally in Vladivostok and 19 people
rallied in Stavropol where four one-man pickets were also staged. Pickets
were held in Kurgan and Chelyabinsk. Ten people took part in a rally in
Petrozavodsk.
"The actions in the aforesaid cities passed without any breaches of
public order. No one was detained because the rallies and pickets were
authorized by the local authorities," the Russian Interior Ministry went
on to say.
The situation was different in Moscow and St. Petersburg where the
opposition held unauthorized rallies.
"Police detained 35 demonstrators in Moscow. Two hundred people had
taken part in the unauthorized opposition rally on Triumfalnaya Square
compared to 300 journalists who covered it," the Moscow interior
department press service told Itar-Tass.
About 100 people, of whom 60 were detained, took part in an
unauthorized action in St. Petersburg.
Moscow law enforcers told Itar-Tass that the Left Front leader Sergei
Udaltsov and Boris Nemtsov were among the detained in Moscow.
Mikhail Sukhodolosky, the first deputy head of the Russian Interior
Ministry, earlier warned that any unauthorized actions slated for July 31
would be thwarted and their participants detained.

.Russian athletes lead in overall standings at European Champs.

BARCELONA, August 1 (Itar-Tass) - The Russian national team is leading
in overall standings at the European Athletics Championships in Spain.
Russian athletes have won 21 medals, including eight gold, six silver and
seven bronzes, ahead of the final day of competitions.
Britain is second (six gold, six silver and four bronze medals) and
France is third (six gold, two silver and four bronze medals).
Competitions for eleven medals will be held on Sunday.

-0-fil/