The United States urged Russia to release Mr. Navalny and criticized the crackdown on protests
Chanting slogans against President Vladimir Putin, thousands of people took to the streets Sunday across Russia’s vast expanse to demand the release of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, keeping up the nationwide protests that have rattled the Kremlin. Nearly 2,300 were detained by police, according to a monitoring group.
Russian authorities mounted a massive effort to stem the tide of demonstrations after tens of thousands rallied across the country last weekend in the largest, most widespread show of discontent that Russia has seen in years. Yet despite threats of jail terms, warnings to social media groups and tight police cordons, the protests again engulfed many cities on Sunday.
The 44-year-old Navalny, an anti-corruption investigator who is Mr. Putin’s best-known critic, was arrested on January 17 upon returning from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from a…