Pro-Kremlin Youth March to US Embassy

Mon Mar 3, 2008 6:10 AM EST

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Vladimir Putin, left, and his hand-picked successor Dmitry Medvedev wave to their supporters standing side-by-side at the stage during a concert to mark presidential election at the Moscow Red Square late Sunday, March 2, 2008. Medvedev was headed for an easy victory in Sunday's presidential election, according to an exit poll and partial results. Putin congratulated his protege and said his win would guarantee the continuation of his policies. (AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Vladimir Rodionov, Presidential Press Service)

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MOSCOW MILLS — Hundreds of pro-Kremlin youths marched toward the U.S. Embassy in Moscow on Monday to protest American foreign policy.

One day after Russia elected Dmitry Medvedev to succeed Vladimir Putin as president, members of the youth group Nashi and other, regional organizations set off from the Ukrainia Hotel and across the Moscow River toward the embassy.

They wore smocks bearing the slogans, "Russia Forward!" and "We Will Stand Beside Our Country."

Some marchers from the North Caucasus region of Chechnya said they oppose U.S. policies in Kosovo and Iraq.

Medvedev, the Kremlin's favorite, won the election with more than 70 percent of the vote, according to nearly complete returns, in large part due to his promise to continue to pursue the polices of Putin, who has reasserted this country's power abroad, taking a particularly assertive course with the West, and kept a tight grip on society at home.