(via World Economic Forum, Creative Commons)

Putin's official return to the Russian presidency was marked with demonstrations involving about 20,000 people, according to the BBC.

While these initial demonstrators called for new elections, more demonstrations are rising from collective unrest over Putin's return to power, and the show of force his government has made against any demonstrators.

One recent protest stemmed from an arrest in March over a female punk group that sang anti-Putin prayers in front of Christ the Savior Cathedral, according to the Washington Post.

On Sunday, another protest, dubbed "Occupy Abai" by its participants, drew about 10,000 people to a peaceful protest through central Moscow, according to Reuters. 

Some participants of the "Occupy Abai" protests--named for the landmark the protest was centered around--wore ribbons reading "Russia without Putin," while others handed out white ribbons reading "free tickets to a police van ride."

While the "Occupy Abai" protest met little resistance, Putin's been vocally criticized over the protest crackdowns since his return to the presidency by figures like U.S. Senator John McCain, who said that the Russian leader needs to "understand that there is great resistance to the way he governs."

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