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By Miriam Elder, The Guardian
The Russian leadership has sought to calm tensions following an unprecedented protest against Vladimir Putin that brought tens of thousands of demonstrators on to the streets of Moscow.
The prime minister has yet to comment on the protest, but his spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said: "We respect the point of view of the protesters. We are hearing what is being said. We will continue to listen to them."
Up to 50,000 people demonstrated in Moscow on Saturday following the disputed parliamentary election in which Putin's United Russia party won nearly 50% of the vote amid widespread allegations of fraud.
Protests took place in more than 50 cities, with a reported 7,000 people gathering in St Petersburg and up to 4,000 in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, despite the temperature of -20C.
Protesters have promised to gather again in two weeks' time if the Kremlin refuses to annul the result, which was confirmed by the election commission on Friday.
Peskov said: "In the past few days, we also witnessed demonstrations by other segments of the population who were supporting those results." United Russia is rallying supporters for a protest on Monday in support of Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev.
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