Moscow (dpa) - Thousands of protesters braved pouring rain in the eastern Russian city of Khabarovsk to demonstrate against the detention of the ex-governor for the fourth Saturday in a row.

On day 22 of the protest movement demanding the release of Sergei Furgal, who is in custody in Moscow, authorities spoke of 3,500 demonstrators, significantly fewer than on previous weekends.

Protesters held portraits of the detained politician and chanted: "We are Sergei Furgal!", "Furgal is our choice!" and "freedom."

Furgal was detained and removed from office because he allegedly organized contract murders.

The protests have begun to morph from demands for Furgal's freedom to demands for Putin to step down, one of the few examples of anti-Putin protests in the 20 years since the president ascended to power.

The Kremlin says the proof against Furgal is beyond doubt, but the protesters say Furgal has been set up and is only being targeted because he has criticized the Kremlin. Furgal won the job in 2018 by beating a pro-Kremlin candidate.

Demonstrations are currently not allowed in Russia due to the coronavirus pandemic.

There were initially no reports of arrests at Saturday's protests, though two young demonstrators were taken into police custody after a rally on Friday, the radio station Echo Moskwy reported.

The Kremlin has temporarily deployed Mikhail Degtyaryov as governor and hopes that the protests will subside.