Lyudmila Alexeyeva’s authorized Strategy 31 protest in Pushkin Square was attended by either ‘250 to 350‘ or ‘between 300 and 1000‘ (depending on your source) peaceful protesters and went without a hitch; Eduard Limonov’s Triumfalnaya Square protest saw 54 of its demonstrators arrested, including Limonov himself. 100 more protesters were detained in St Petersburg, including opposition leader Boris Nemtsov (his ‘umpteenth‘ arrest); reports say that a ‘police helicopter hovered low over demonstrators shouting anti-Kremlin slogans on the main street‘.  The Other Russia reports that Voina activists present were treated particularly harshly, with Oleg Vorotnikhov apparently beaten in detention.  RFE/RL reports on the protests’ American component, with a small group of protesters gathering in Washington to call for freedom of protest in Russia: ‘Here you can feel the freedom. Here you can say something about anything. Here you can say, ‘I’m Russian [and] I disagree with Mr. Putin.’ I can’t say it there.‘  The White House expressed concern following news of the Russian arrests.  Bloomberg suggests that President Dmitry Medvedev’s move to oust government ministers from company boards will trigger a row with Vladimir Putin, whilst Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, says that ‘the subject of replacing officials with independent directors has long been on the agenda.‘  RFE/RL’s Brian Whitmore think Putin is ‘probably in on it‘.