The Kremlin has responded to mass protests on Sunday by accusing the opposition of encouraging lawbreaking and provoking violence.
Some young people were paid to attend, a presidential spokesman said.
But defiant opposition leader Alexei Navalny, one of hundreds of people held, was fined the minimum 20,000 roubles (£280; $350) and was not detained when he appeared in court.
He repeated accusations of corruption against PM Dmitry Medvedev.
The allegations were the main reason behind Sunday’s protests, which drew thousands of demonstrators nationwide, including in Saint Petersburg, Vladivostok, Novosibirsk, Tomsk and several other cities, as well as Moscow. At least 500 protesters were detained.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in the first comments by the presidency since the protests, said: “Essentially what we saw yesterday in several places – probably especially in Moscow – is a provocation and a lie.”
He said young people had been “promised financial rewards in the event of their detention by law enforcement agencies”.
Mr Peskov praised the “appropriate, highly professional and legal” response of the security forces and dismissed calls from the European Union on Monday that those detained should be released “without delay”.
Asked by the BBC whether Mr Medvedev should respond to the concrete allegations of corruption which brought the crowds on to the street, Mr Peskov said: “No comment”.
But he said that, where rallies had taken place legally, “in these cases obviously the slogans, the criticism that was voiced will be paid attention to”.
Correspondents say the marches appear to be the biggest since anti-government demonstrations in 2011 and 2012.
Before his appearance on Monday, Mr Navalny, 40, tweeted from the building: “Hello everyone from Tverskoy Court. The time will come when we will have them on trial (only honestly).”
He argued it was Mr Medvedev who should be summoned as the chief organiser of the protests, because his “corrupt activities led to people coming on to the streets of 99 Russian cities”.
Mr Navalny, denying all the charges, said: “They haven’t heard witnesses, nor have they satisfied any of our requests. Even the slightest semblance of justice is totally absent here.”
He also said again that he plans to run for president in 2018.
Mr Navalny was fined for organising banned protests but was not detained. The court could have ordered a detention of up to 15 days.
Source: BBC
