The United Russia party denies the charges of election fraud raised by Navalny and others.

Saturday’s mass rally indicated, though, how sharply the mood seems to have turned against Putin.

Focus on Putin

In a gathering peppered with homemade signs, one man carried a photograph of Putin wearing a white winter shawl shaped like a condom.

Many protesters were insulted last week when Russia’s Prime Minister joked that he confused their white ribbons of peace with condoms.

Bundled in wool scarves and parkas, the crowd rocked as one rapper ridiculed Putin and corruption in Russia.

Putin has further insulted the protest movement by using old Cold War charges to say that people were demonstrating for money and that they only hit the streets after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave the signal.

Grigory Nikolaevich Zaichenko, a 61-year-old retiree, walked the edges of the crowd holding up a sign that asked, “Where is the money Hillary is handing out?”

He said the combination of blatant fraud and the new ability to communicate through the internet meant that people’s patience has run out.

Kremlin's maneuverings

The Kremlin apparently hoped to cut the protest turnout by issuing a statement Saturday morning saying that the government is hurrying through new laws that will liberalize the registration of parties and presidential candidates.