THE NON-LOYAL OPPOSITION:

"50,000 is a number that the authorities simply can't ignore," said Konstantin Gaaze, a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Moscow Center think tank. "This sends out a very strong signal and shows that there is real solidarity among protesters."

This week's event was largely held in support of those who have been detained and arrested -- sometimes violently -- over previous protests. Chants calling on Russia to free its political prisoners could be heard along with chants in support of the rejected candidates.

Attendants wore shirts and held up signs in support of Yegor Zhukov, a 21-year-old student who faces up to eight years in prison on "mass unrest" charges, as well as the students who had been detained while picketing Zhukov's arrest.

The solidarity has spread outside the capital, with several other Russian cities staging their own protests in solidarity this weekend.

The Moscow event, held the day after the 20-year anniversary of President Vladimir Putin first coming to power, "showed that there are many more non-loyal people than the Kremlin hoped for," said political analyst and former Kremlin adviser Gleb Pavlovsky. "These people aren't the traditional opposition, but a much wider group."

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