MOSCOW, April 16 (UPI) -- A pro-Kremlin group called Nashi and the Russian opposition People's Freedom Party held rallies in Moscow to protest corruption, officials said.
Police said the Nashi youth group drew about 50,000 activists to a site north of Moscow's city center Saturday, while the PFP rally a couple miles away drew about 1,500 people.
RIA Novosti said Saturday the rallies were peaceful, although at the Nashi demonstration police closed off streets and used metal detectors to screen demonstrators.
Nashi leaders announced an online campaign to expose corruption, as demonstrators, some dressed as rats, chanted "No corruption."
"We believe that we are moving in the right direction and that the questions you pose ... will fluster many bad people," Nashi leaders told the crowd.
At the PFP rally across the Moscow River from the Kremlin, demonstrators waved red leaflets listing their demands, which include fair trials, an end to media censorship and public oversight of law enforcement agencies.
