Russian police search Garry Kasparov's office

MOSCOW: Russian opposition leader and chess champion Garry Kasparov said on Tuesday police had raided his offices in an apparent attempt to disrupt a planned protest against President Vladimir Putin.   

Police inspected the United Civil Front headquarters for two hours saying they had been told "extremist literature" was kept there and they carried off some leaflet samples for checks, Kasparov's aides said.   

Police were not available for comment. Such inspections were legalised under a law adopted last year, viewed by the Kremlin as an instrument to monitor political radicalism but by opponents as a straightjacket for democracy.   

"There are reasons to believe this action is linked to the opposition march planned for Dec. 16," Kasparov told reporters in the party's office in central Moscow. 

Critics of the Kremlin say it has been rolling back democratic freedoms. They say opposition parties have been muzzled and the Kremlin has established tight control over the media. Putin has denied the allegations.   

Kasparov, who was world chess champion for eight years in a row, has retired from competitive chess and is now a full-time politician competing with other liberal politicians to lead the revival of a split and marginalised opposition.   

Moscow authorities have turned down an application for an opposition march in central Moscow citing inconvenience to traffic. Instead authorities told organisers to limit their protest to a rally at one of the city's central squares.   

Kasparov cited Russian laws which he said state peaceful protests do not need permission. He said he would take part in the planned protest despite pressure.   

This week a spokesman for Moscow's mayor urged law-enforcement agencies to warn opposition activists they could face criminal charges if they marched despite the ban.   

"Law enforcement bodies have launched their attack following this informal advice," Kasparov said. "I think it's about attempts to intimidate the opposition."   

"As far as I know the organisers of the march have been summoned to the prosecutor's office," he said.

"The authorities are using in full the state machine not to allow people to exercise their rights."   

Organisers of the protest said on Tuesday opposition activists from Russia's regions had been ordered to report to local police.