Russian president-elect Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday took part in a march in Moscow marking International Workers' Day, along with 150,000 supporters.
Most of the participants of the state-sanctioned May Day demonstration were members of local labour unions or the ruling United Russia political party, the Interfax news agency said.
Marchers along the major streets of the Russian capital carried banners reading "We are the power!", "Putin! Medvedev! Forward Russia!" and "Working people for Putin and Medvedev!"
The demonstration was peaceful, police said, DPA reported.
It was the first time Medvedev, whom Putin has suggested should become the next leader of United Russia, had taken part in a May Day march while serving as president, the report said.
Medvedev and Putin walked with the crowd for several blocks in the centre of the city and later had lunch at a cafeteria where they chatted with fellow diners, as state media looked on.
Medvedev ordered boiled potatoes and cod, while Putin chose fried potatoes and mutton sausage. Both politicians drank non-filtered Russian beer, news reports said.
Some 220,000 people participated in May Day marches in Russia's Far East, with similar demonstrations in progress or planned in central and western provinces of the country, a United Russia statement said.
May 1 celebrations including mass marches through city centres were a longstanding tradition during Russia's Soviet era.