Updated . All those detained near the Kremlin were released by the police, but 13 participants in other rallies in honor of Kotov’s birthday in Moscow and St. Petersburg were detained . Later, 12 of them were released on an undertaking to appear.

In Moscow, near the Kremlin, five activists were detained for launching balloons in the colors of the Russian flag in honor of the birthday of Konstantin Kotov, a defendant in the “Moscow case.” Novaya Gazeta reports this.

Two journalists, employees of Novaya Gazeta and Sota.Vision, were detained along with the protesters. They were later released without drawing up reports. The remaining five detainees are in the Kitay-Gorod police station.

Among those detained is one minor, writes OVD-Info.

In 2019, public activist Konstantin Kotov received four years in prison for repeated participation in unauthorized rallies (Article 212.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). He became the second person in Russia convicted under this article. The first was Ildar Dadin, his sentence was overturned.
In January 2020, Vladimir Putin ordered to check the legality of Kotov’s sentence. The Constitutional Court ordered the verdict to be reviewed, but the Supreme Court found no grounds for this. The Prosecutor General's Office asked to reduce Kotov's sentence from four to one year in prison.
On February 22, Kotov turned 35 years old.

13 participants in protests in honor of Konstantin Kotov’s birthday were detained in Moscow and St. Petersburg