Police ordered ordinary drivers in Moscow to use their cars as a roadblock to stop a fleeing armed criminal.

The cars were parked across the road, with the motorists still inside, but the suspect still managed to smash his way through.

The tactics have been condemned by rights activists at a time when police are rapidly getting a reputation as a threat rather than protection despite President Dmitry Medvedev's reforms.

Those pressed into the operation to stop the suspect who was speeding along Moscow's main orbital road said no one was injured but cars were damaged.

One said he was told the fugitive was considered armed and dangerous.