MOSCOW, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- About 500 people were arrested in Moscow Tuesday for participating in illegal nationalist rallies on Unity Day, a holiday marking a Russian victory in 1612.
Another 45 people were arrested in St. Petersburg, the Novosti news agency reported.
Viktor Biryukov, a police spokesman in Moscow, said that many of those picked up were quickly released.
Then-President Vladimir Putin made Nov. 4 a national holiday in 2004, marking the day that Polish and Lithuanian forces who had been occupying Moscow were ousted. While the holiday has little meaning for most Russians, it has become a significant day for right-wing nationalists.
Those holding rallies included the Movement Against Illegal Immigration and Slavic Union. About 1,500 people attended the official Russian March in Moscow, fewer than one-third of the projected crowd.
