A Russian court has sentenced two Russian opposition activists -- Sergei Udaltsov and Leonid Razvozzhayev – to 4.5 years in prison each.
The Moscow City Court announced the sentences on the evening of July 24 after the same court earlier in the day found both men guilty of organizing mass disorder.
Udaltsov, the coordinator of the Left Front movement, and Razvozzhayev were accused of preparing mass riots in Russian regions and organizing an anti-Putin rally on Moscow's Bolotnaya Square in May 2012 that turned violent and left scores of protesters and police injured.
Razvozzhayev was also accused of illegally crossing the border.
Investigators say the protest was orchestrated by a Georgian politician, Givi Targamadze, who is not in Russia.
The two went on trial in February and pleaded not guilty.
On July 7, the prosecutor asked the court to sentence Udaltsov and Razvozzhayev to eight years in jail each.
Udaltsov has already declared he was going on a hunger strike to protest the court decision.
