MOSCOW, March 18: Russian police detained about 100 people protesting on Sunday outside a television station loyal to the Kremlin after it aired a documentary-style programme that portrayed the opposition as paid agents of the US.

The NTV programme “Anatomy of a Protest” suggested that opposition leaders were intent on overthrowing the government, and that migrant workers and others were being paid to attend recent protests against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The programme, which aired Thursday, triggered a flood of angry tweets and comments on social networking websites.

About 1,000 people took part in Sunday’s protest, chanting “Shame on NTV” and “Russia without Putin.” Many wore the white ribbons that have become a symbol of the protest movement. Drivers passing by honked their horns in support.

Sergei Udaltsov, an opposition leader who had already been detained twice this month at protests following Putin’s victory in a March 4 presidential election, was among those detained Sunday. Udaltsov and others detained at the beginning of the protest were released a few hours later. It was unclear whether police would hold anyone overnight.—AP