What Happened On July 27, an estimated 10,000 people took to the streets in Moscow to protest the barring of independent candidates from upcoming local elections. In the end, the unauthorized rally resulted in the arrests of nearly 1,400 demonstrators. This was the second straight weekend of mass opposition protests in the country's capital, following July 20 demonstrations that attracted roughly 20,000 people. On July 29, the Moscow mayor's office authorized an opposition protest on the city's Garden Ring at Sakharov Avenue on Aug. 3. The activists have since contested this venue and called for a more central location on Lubyanka Square instead, with Libertarian Party Leader Mikhail Svetov saying the authorized location didn't "suit" the opposition movement. Following the latest rally, Russia's prosecutor general, Yuri Chaika, warned that the government would use "the entire range of response measures" should unsanctioned demonstrations continue to take place in Moscow.