Gary Kasparov Arrested During Peaceful Protest In Russia

This kind of thing could start something big:

Several hundred protestors were arrested, including Garry Kasparov, who was taken into custody Saturday on his way to the square where the Moscow rally was held. Mr. Kasparov, a former world chess champion, has won new prominence in recent years as Russia's leading democratic activist. He is the moral force behind an umbrella group of opposition groups known as the Other Russia, which organized the rallies.

Here is Mr. Kasparov's account of his arrest: "We were walking down the middle of the pedestrian walkway, not holding any flags or even shouting," he said in a statement. "They cut us off on both sides and when we stepped into a cafe the police pursued us and took us out. I say 'police,' but they failed to identify themselves or to give any reason for our arrest." After 10 hours in jail, he was fined and released. Mr. Kasparov was lucky. Many other protestors were beaten.

Mr. Kasparov also serves as a contributing editor of this newspaper and has been writing on Russian democracy for us since 1990. In his most recent article, published on March 30, he predicted the current violence. Mr. Putin, he wrote, would crack down "on any sign of public of political opposition, no matter how small, using overwhelming force." Mr. Putin cannot risk a Russian version of Ukraine's grassroots Orange Revolution.