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Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who was poisoned last year, was arrested on his return to Russia from Germany.
Navalny spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh confirmed that he had been detained.
She said: “Alexei was kidnapped by police at the border. Without giving any explanation.”
Authorities had warned that he would be detained for violating a sentence for alleged fraud, but told reporters on board that he was “an innocent person.”
The plane was originally supposed to land at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport, but was diverted to Sheremetyevo airport, which is one of four international airports in the city.
Several hundred of his supporters had gathered outside the Vnukovo airport to greet him as he returned home for the first time since he was poisoned in Russia last summer.
Police detained several people and led a crowd out of the terminal. Supporters chanted “Russia will be free!” and “Navalny! Navalny!”
The 44-year-old has said the poisoning attack was carried out on the orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Navalny fell seriously ill on a flight over Siberia in August and was flown to Berlin on a medical plane in an induced coma.
Western experts concluded that he was poisoned with a Soviet-designed nerve toxin, Novichok.
The Kremlin denied their involvement and Russian investigators said there was no reason to launch an investigation into the attack.
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Berlin said yesterday that it had responded to Moscow’s requests for legal assistance and provided transcripts of an interview conducted by German police with Navalny.
Russia’s Prison Service (FSIN) now says the political leader could face jail time for violating the terms of a 2014 suspended sentence he received on fraud charges.
FSIN said it would be “obliged” to arrest Navalny.
The anti-fraud activist may also face criminal charges under an investigation launched by Russian investigators late last year that say he misappropriated more than € 4 million in donations.
For around a decade, Navalny has been the symbol of Russia’s protest movement, rising to fame as an anti-corruption blogger and leading street demonstrations against the government.
His team posts research on YouTube into the wealth of Russia’s political elites, some of which garner millions of views, making them the target of lawsuits, police raids and stints in jail.
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