Protesters hold placards during an opposition rally in St Petersburg yesterday. Opposition protesters marched through St Petersburg to demonstrate against President Vladimir Putin while he was hosting a huge conference for investors in his home city. Around 3,500 people marched peacefully through the historic city centre shouting "Shame on the Kremlin, shame on the authorities" and "Russia without Putin". - Reuters

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP):

Russia's opposition movement, headed by chess champion Garry Kasparov, succeeded yesterday, after months of trying to hold a protest march in a major city that ended without interference or police violence.

The march took place as foreign executives attended a business forum in another part of St. Petersburg, raising speculation that police held off to avoid em-barrassment as Russian leaders seek to speed the flow of investment dollars into the thriving economy.

Under a heavy police presence, Kasparov and fellow Kremlin foe Eduard Limonov led hundreds of protesters along anapproved route to a site where they held a rally. Protesters chanted "Russia without Putin!" and "No police state!" as police shouted through bullhorns for them to stay on the sidewalks.

Organised protests

The protest was the latest in a series of 'Dissenters' Marches' organised since December by Kasparov and allies in a loose grouping of opposition factions that accuse Putin of strangling democracy before presidential elections next year.

"The president ... got rid of elections, and brought in his circle from the old KGB. That's not democracy," said demonstrator Irina Berman, a pensioner. Putin, a longtime KGB officer, initiated legislation that has scrapped elections of regional leaders as well as direct elections of lawmakers in Parliament.

Police have violently dispersed several of the previous Dissenters' Marches, beaten demonstrators and bystanders with truncheons and detained dozens of people. They have also hampered opposition attempts to show strength by detaining leaders and activists.

Last month, Kasparov and other activists were detained for hours at a Moscow airport to keep them away from a march in the Volga River city of Samara that coincided with a Russia-European Union summit nearby - a move that drew sharp criticism of Putin from EU leaders.

This time, the protest coincided with Putin meeting foreign leaders and executives at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum.

In contrast to past Dissenters' Marches, St. Petersburg authorities gave permission for both a march and demonstration. In apparent attempts to keep protesters out of the spotlight, however, they approved a route that did not include main arteries and stipulated that no more than 500 people could participate.