Yulia Navalnaya, wife of Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny, was arrested during a protest in Moscow today.

"Sorry for the poor quality. The lights in the police car are very bad," Yulia said on Instagram with a photo, after thousands of Navalny supporters participated in protests in many areas.

In the Moscow capital, thousands gathered in Pushkin Square and nearby streets, as reported by AFP.

Navalny, 44, called for supporters to take to the streets after he was detained.

Police also arrested nearly 400 people in cities in the Far East, Siberia and Ural, where Navalny supporters protested in cold weather.

Russian officials said the protests were illegal because they were not allowed.

Navalny was arrested on January 17, as soon as he returned home with his wife after months of treatment at a German hospital.

Navalny's allies asked supporters to gather in Moscow on January 23 and marched together towards the Kremlin.

Navalny has repeatedly spearheaded large-scale Russian street protests, most recently in the summer of 2019 when his allies were not allowed to participate in local elections.

The Russian arrest of Navalny drew criticism from the US and Western countries.