Former chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov accused Russian authorities of illegally crushing an anti-Kremlin march on Saturday and called the protest a victory for opponents of President Vladimir Putin, the Reuters news agency reports.

Kasparov, who was among at least 170 people detained during a march organized by opposition coalition Other Russia, appeared briefly outside a central Moscow court after being charged with public order offenses during the banned protest.

“Today the regime showed its true colors, its true face,” said Kasparov, who turned 44 on Friday, and is one of the leaders of Other Russia.

“I believe this was a great victory for the opposition because people got through and the march happened,” he said to applause from about 10 supporters carrying roses.

Kasparov was defiant and spoke confidently during a brief adjournment in his court hearing. He was accompanied by his lawyer, Karina Moskalenko.

“We were arrested when we were doing nothing. There was no action. We were just walking along,” he told about 20 reporters.

Riot police had earlier broken up a protest in a square one kilometer from the Kremlin and dispersed crowds of protesters marching through central Moscow.

City authorities had banned the “march of the discontented,” the latest in a series of anti-Kremlin protests in Russian cities. Police mobilized about 9,000 officers to keep order and said they had prevented an “illegal gathering.”

Kasparov said protesters had been beaten throughout the day.

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