Young Russians are fed up, and the Kremlin has taken notice

[Guest Nicole]

Moscow (CNN)The thousands of Russians who took to the streets over the weekend may not have vented their fury directly at Vladimir Putin, but the President certainly took note of the message.

After the largest mass demonstrations in years, when crowds across the country took part in anti-corruption rallies, the Interior Ministry has warned that it will use the full extent of its powers to confront any future unauthorized gatherings.

Opposition supporters take part in the anti-corruption rally in central Moscow.

But the warning has not impressed or deterred a younger generation of protesters who are fed up with rampant nepotism, exasperated by the lack of accountability, and stifled by the lack of opportunities on offer in Russia today.

Their grievances are directed less at Putin himself than at a system that has institutionalized graft and accelerated inequality. In some ways they are reminiscent of the frustration of younger, educated Arabs in Cairo and Tunis in 2011, but it is unclear if Russia's anti-corruption movement can effect real change.

Riot police officers detain a protester during the rally in Moscow.

In Moscow, where the largest of dozens of protests took place, at least 500 people were detained -- carried and frog-marched into police vehicles. The authorities had warned that the rally, called by opposition leader Alexey Navalny, was against the law.

A young geologist called Sergey Pravov was among those arrested. "We started singing the national anthem," he told CNN. He added with a smile: "We just got to the 'free country' part, when we were taken by the police and thrown into the bus."

He told CNN that young people had taken part because they "are tired of the impunity of officials and their children and relatives who can get away with anything. "

"They are tired of living below the poverty line while people they pay to rule wisely are swimming in gold," Pravov says.

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