Russian police detain eight at Navalny protests in far east

The Russian Police has arrested eight people in Russia's far-eastern city of Magadan on Wednesday, according to the Open Russia opposition group, as protests began across the country over Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's deteriorating health in prison.

Several Navalny allies were detained on Wednesday morning, hours before President Vladimir Putin was due to deliver a state-of-the-nation speech.

Yesterday, The Moscow government had refused to authorize rallies scheduled for April 21 and May 1 because of the coronavirus, the Russian capital's security department had said on Tuesday.

The department said that the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, and the Moscow Trade Union Federation were among those who submitted appeals to have public rallies across Moscow authorized for April 21 and May 1.

(With inputs from agencies)