MOSCOW: A top Russian opposition figure has been placed under house arrest for two months, a move that also bans him from using most forms of communication, including the Internet, telephone and mail.

A Moscow court imposed the restrictions on Saturday on Sergei Udaltsov after prosecutors complained he had violated a previous agreement not to leave Moscow.

Udaltsov, one of the most prominent figures of the wave of protests that arose in late 2011, is facing charges in connection with a protest in May that ended in clashes with police and for allegedly plotting to conduct mass disorder aimed at overthrowing the government.

Since Vladimir Putin returned to the Russian presidency in May, authorities have cracked down on opposition, and protests have diminished in frequency and size. A documentary-style programme aired by a Kremlin-friendly TV channel claimed that Udaltsov and his associates met with a Georgian lawmaker last autumn to raise money for organising riots in Moscow and several other Russian cities.—AP