MOSCOW. May 6 (Interfax) - Russian human rights commissioner Vladimir Lukin has blamed provocative acts staged by the opposition and police flaws for what happened on Bolotnaya Square in the center of Moscow on Sunday.

file photo "The parents of this serious setback, a step backwards, were provocateurs, on one hand, and shortcomings in the police service's work, which should be corrected," Lukin told Interfax on Sunday.

Opposition members claim that several dozen people were detained during the March of Millions rally on Bolotnaya Square. They accused the police of provoking the crowd by limiting access to Bolotnaya Square.

Police, for their part, accused the opposition of deliberately staging provocations.

The latest police reports put the number of those detained in central Moscow today at up to 250.

"I saw that the procession along Bolshaya Yakimanka (Street) was going excellently, even ideally and very peacefully. But at the entrance to Bolotnaya Square, people, most of whom were holding red flags, simultaneously sat down on the ground and started a sit-down strike, thus blocking the entrance," the rights commissioner said.

Police allowed people to pass through metal detectors on the square very slowly, he said.

"I think that responsibility rests with those action organizers who staged the sit-down strike. I can call it nothing but a provocation. But there were also serious shortcomings in the work of our police. Police treated the process of passing through metal detectors by such a large number of people too scrupulously and failed to prepare reserve ways in the event of an emergency," Lukin said.