Russian police detained more than 800 people protesting against planned increases to the pension age, a rights group said, disrupting demonstrations held in more than 80 towns and cities against an unpopular change that has hurt President Vladimir Putin's approval rating. Russian police have broken up protests across the country against a planned increase in the retirement age. More than 800 protesters were detained and some beaten with batons, the rights monitoring group OVD-info says. The rallies were called by the jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who has capitalised on widespread anger against the reforms.
The protests coincide with elections for 26 heads of Russia's 85 regions, including in Moscow, which are being held on Sunday. OVD-Info says 839 people were detained in 19 cities. The largest number was in St Petersburg, where 354 were held, the group said. Another 129 were detained in the city of Yekaterinburg in the Urals, while Moscow saw 36 arrests. From 2019, the retirement age for men and women will start being increased gradually. By 2036 it will have risen from 60 to 65 for men and from 55 to 60 for women. Mr Putin softened the initial plan to raise women's retirement age to 63. Russian men have a life expectancy of 66 while for women it is 77, the World Health Organization says.
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