Rallies mark Russia's unity day

Russia has marked its annual day of national unity with rallies in Moscow and St Petersburg.

The Kremlin introduced the day in 2005 to replace the traditional celebrations marking the 1917 revolution that brought the Bolsheviks to power.

The largest rally took place in the capital, where pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi gathered some 20,000 supporters.

In St Petersburg there were minor clashes between an ultra-nationalist group and an anti-fascist movement.

In the south-east of Moscow some 1,500 members of the far-right Movement Against Illegal Immigration took part in a "Russian March", according to AFP.

Some of the participants, many of whom were dressed in black, shouted "Glory to Russia" and carried banners proclaiming: "Russia is for the Russians".

The rallies took part despite the Kremlin's attempts to portray the day as a celebration of Russia's ethnic diversity.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the national day gave "reason to believe that we are indeed a united people, a people capable of overcoming the biggest problems which have been our fate more than once".

Russians were "a people that has defeated the enemy many times", he added during a speech broadcast on state television.