Aleksei Navalny Verdict Protests -- Liveblog

Interfax: Ministry of Internal Affairs spokesman says 2,500 people are demonstrating. Organizers have estimated about 5,000. The discrepancy is par for the course.

Reminder - We are streaming the protests live.

Interesting news coming from Kirov, where Navalny was sentenced. From our Russian Service:

A representative of the Prosecutor's Office has filed an appeal against the courtroom arrest of Aleksei Navalny and Pyotr Ofitserova. The prosecution believes that the decision to arrest was unlawful because the sentence had not yet entered into force. The court will take up the appeal tomorrow.

Tverskaya Street. Right in front of the Kremlin.

A correspondent for "Bloomberg News." Activists have also estimated about 5,000 people, but there has been no official number from authorities (usually they vary widely).

Protesters blocking Tverskaya street - the main drag leading to the Kremlin.

From RFE/RL Russian correspondent Vladislav Moiseev: Detentions continue, people being dragged along the asphalt. At least three dozen detainees.

From Anastasia Kirilenko, a reporter from RFE/RL's Russian Service reports on one man's divergent causest.

"First, I'm here on personal business, to buy shoes on Manezh Square. Secondly, my civil rights are being restricted."

Meanwhile, over a megaphone, police shout, "Leave Manezh Square, it is closed for repairs!"

Protesters are calling the police "fascists" and chanting "shame" as they tussle with protesters trying to get through.