Russian Police Prepare For More Protests

Police in Russia are preparing for a fourth day of protests against the result of Sunday's election.

More than 250 people were arrested during rallies in Moscow and St Petersberg overnight as they demanded Prime Minister Vladimir Putin step down.

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Thousands of troops have been deployed in the Russian capital as unprecedented numbers of people demonstrate over the weekend's results.

Liberal opposition party leader Boris Nemtsov was among the hundreds of people who were arrested. He was later released without charge.

Demonstrators shouted "Putin is a crook and a thief" referring both to the alleged election fraud and to widespread complaints that United Russia is one of the prime reasons for Russia's endemic corruption.

Hundreds of young men with emblems of United Russia's youth wing, the Young Guards, gathered on the outskirts of the city's Revolution square and tauntingly chanted "Putin victory".

Sky's Amanda Walker has heard reports of fireworks being thrown and anti-Putin protesters being dragged off by police officers.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's United Russia party saw a significant drop in support in Sunday's election but it will still have a majority in parliament.

Opponents have said even that victory was due to massive vote fraud.

The election results have caused an international war of words after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton suggested the vote had been neither free nor fair and urged that reports of fraud were investigated.

Russia's foreign ministry has responded by saying the comments are "unacceptable".

Preliminary results show the United Russia party got 49.5% of the vote, one of the worst election results of Mr Putin's 12-year rule, which gives it a slim 13-seat majority.

Mr Putin has promised a "significant reshuffle" following the presidential election next year in an attempt to calm anger that has spilled onto the streets.