The participants gathered in a downtown square amid a massive police presence, with nearly 2,000 police deployed to maintain order.

The authorized rally took place two months after police moved to block thousands of ultranationalists rallying in Russian cities, arresting hundreds who gathered in defiance of a ban on far-right demonstrations timed to coincide with a newly created Russian national holiday.

The government has been keen to dispel accusations it is doing little to combat rising xenophobia in Russia.

Russia has seen an increase in hate crimes against dark-skinned foreigners, Jews and immigrants from Central Asia and the Caucasus. Last year, 53 people were killed in apparent hate crimes and a further 460 attacked, according to the Sova rights center. The Associated Press

/The International Herald Tribune/