Thousands of Russian opposition activists marched through Moscow on Wednesday as they denounced President Vladimir Putin's authoritarian rule and insisted it is time Russia and its leader part ways. Led by anti-corruption crusader Alexei Navalny, 37, and his youthful wife, the protesters chanted "Divorce for Russia" and "Lyudmila without Putin. We should also divorce Putin." The witty slogans came on the heels of Putin's sudden announcement last week that the 60-year-old leader and his wife Lyudmila of 30 years were divorcing.

Thousands of Russian opposition activists marched through Moscow on Wednesday to denounce President Vladimir Putin's authoritarian rule and call for the release of jailed anti-Kremlin protesters. Led by anti-corruption crusader Alexei Navalny, the protesters chanted "Divorce for Russia" and "Lyudmila without Putin. We should also divorce Putin," in reference to Putin's announcement last week that he and his wife Lyudmila of 30 years were divorcing.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday promoted a coalition of his supporters as his new power base as he appeared to distance himself from the scandal-tainted ruling party during his new term in office. "We are the Popular Front. We are for Russia," Putin told thousands of supporters at the founding congress of a movement called the All-Russia Popular Front. "The All-Russia Popular Front should become a truly encompassing public movement," he said, his speech interrupted by chants of "Russia" and "The people -- Russia -- Putin".

By Douglas Busvine MOSCOW (Reuters) - A leading economist who fled Russia after being questioned by state investigators said on Friday he had left because he preferred freedom to living in fear, but that President Vladimir Putin was not to blame. Sergei Guriev, head of Moscow's New Economic School, left Russia this month after being questioned in an investigation into defunct oil firm Yukos, whose founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a Putin critic, was jailed in 2005 for fraud.