Garry Kasparov, the Russian chess champion turned opposition leader, was detained by police and charged with public order offenses after an anti-government rally in Moscow today, a week before parliamentary elections.

Kasparov and some of his supporters tried to march through central Moscow to hand in a petition at the central election commission following an hour-long demonstration by his loose opposition coalition, The Other Russia. A brawl ensued between demonstrators and police, and Kasparov and his bodyguards were bundled into a bus by OMON special police and driven a short distance. It’s the second time he’s been arrested this year.

Kasparov was then taken to Moscow’s Meshchansky court and charged with two breaches of public order, Lyudmila Mamina, spokeswoman for The Other Russia, said in an e-mailed statement. He was ordered to be detained for five days, a later statement from Mamina said.

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