Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been detained just after being released from jail.

Navalny’s 30 days in jail for staging an unsanctioned protest ran out early on Monday.

A police officer approached him and took him away just as he came out of a detention centre in Moscow to be greeted by supporters and the media.

Navalny has been the driving force behind a recent series of anti-government rallies.

His detention comes amid a wave of popular discontent against a hike in the retirement age, an issue that angered Russians across the political spectrum.