Thousands participated in protests and demonstrations against corruption in Russia on Monday. Around 1,400 people were arrested in Moscow and St Petersburg, reported CNN. The country’s opposition leader Alexei Navalny was sentenced to 30 days’ detention after he was found guilty of calling unlawful protests.

Navalny will contest the Russian presidential elections against Vladimir Putin next year. He had mobilised support through social media for the protests across the country on Russia Day.

“I want changes. I want to live in a modern democratic state and I want our taxes to be converted into roads, schools and hospitals, not into yachts, palaces and vineyards,” Navalny wrote on social media platforms while urging people to take to the streets against corruption at high levels in the government.

The Moscow Police said that 5,000 people took part in the protests there. The country’s Interior Ministry said around 3,500 people participated in the demonstrations held in St Petersburg.