Test in demonstrations

said as she wrote her letter. Many participants were reluctant to give their names because of the legal problems faced by numerous people who took part in previous protests. “I want to live in a country where laws are observed,” she said.

Another protester who declined to give his full name, Alexander, 26, said he had tried to start an emergency services company to work in gas fields and had been blocked at every turn. “They keep telling me that they don’t have the budget, maybe because the prime minister stole $ 70 billion,” he said, referring to recent accusations against Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in a YouTube video produced by Navalny.

“The government does not care about ordinary people — about our salaries, medication, our rights, nothing,” Alexander said.

Many of those presenting petitions acknowledged that the relatively low turnout and the government’s general indifference meant the protests would probably not have much of an effect. But they said it was time to start pushing back against an erosion of civil liberties and the country’s poor economic performance.

The anti-corruption theme burst into new prominence on March 26, with marches that included many young people in about 80 Russian cities. The protests were called by Navalny, who was subsequently jailed for 15 days for organizing them. More than 1,000 people were arrested in Moscow alone and have steadily been brought to court.

Navalny appears to have hit a public nerve with a series of videos accusing senior government officials of widespread corruption.

His latest video focused on what he said was a group of four bogus charities that spend more than $66 billion annually to maintain a series of luxurious residences for the prime minister.

Navalny was doused with green dye for a second time Thursday, and one eye required medical treatment. He appeared on his YouTube channel afterward, tinted slightly green, to answer questions from around the country.

He expressed support for the idea of submitting petitions Saturday, but he said he doubted that doing so would produce any positive results.

Asked about the Saturday protest last week, Dmitri S. Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, noted that it was illegal and would be dealt with accordingly. Police in Moscow repeatedly ordered anyone lingering on the sidewalk to move on, but otherwise treated the protesters respectfully.