religious fundamentalists.
Thats not really the issue in Russia.
Russian Nationalism ties its self to the Church as a belated counter reaction to the Soviet era.
Its deeper than that,its not religion above country but religion being country with a lot of Russians.
Even Stalin recognised this and re opened the Churches he hadnt destroyed in the 20s and 30s when the nazis were nearing the gates of Moscow.
So,the Putinites ,the young drones from Nashi etc see the protest for exactly what it was,an attack on the twin pilars of nationalism, the *big man* at the helm and the Patriarch at the spiritual helm.
They knew what they were doing,they will not have expected a stern telling off and a few hours street cleaning,but,saying that,anyone who knows Russia knows the fastest way to hurt opposition is to support it from the west.