Police detain a woman during a protest against the jailing of Alexei Navalny in St.Petersburg on Saturday. AP

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

As protests erupted in cities across Russia on Saturday the UAE embassy in Moscow has urged Emiratis in the country to take utmost precautions and avoid crowded places near demonstrations in central Moscow and in other cities.

The embassy has asked its citizens, who are in Moscow to contact the embassy on the phone number 0079263622221 for any assistance.

Protesters are demanding the release of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, the Kremlin's most prominent foe.

Russian police arrested more than 850 protesters, some of whom took to the streets in temperatures as frigid as minus-50 Celsuis .

Navalny’s wife Yulia was among those arrested.

A police officer detains a woman during a rally in support of Navalny in Moscow. Reuters 

In Moscow, about 5,000 demonstrators filled Pushkin Square in the city center, where clashes with police broke out and demonstrators were roughly dragged off by helmeted riot officers to police buses and detention trucks.