Police denied the use of pepper gas in St. Petersburg

This was reported by the press service of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the city.

"In the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, they denied the use of special equipment, such as stun grenades and pepper gas, during the suppression of violations of public order by police officers," the TASS report was quoted as saying.

Earlier in St. Petersburg, law enforcement officers detained a man who hit a riot policeman during an unauthorized rally on Pionerskaya Square.