Moscow ? A protest in Moscow led by chess champion Garry Kasparov and other critics of President Vladimir Putin ended peacefully Monday in marked contrast to their last demonstration in the capital that culminated in beatings and arrests.

During the rally, protesters encountered mild harassment. A white truck stacked with loudspeakers repeatedly drove by the square blaring maniacal laughter that sometimes drowned out those addressing the crowd.

It was only the second time that a demonstration led by Kasparov and his allies in a major Russian city has ended without police violence or other interference.

The protest site was ringed by metal barriers and troops in fatigues, rather than the riot police in full protective gear that greeted would-be protesters who showed up for an unauthorized rally in April. That effort was crushed when riot police began rounding up demonstrators.