Tomorrow, June 12, is Russia Day, a public holiday commemorating the day when the nation seceded from the USSR.  Protestors in Moscow have secured a permit to hold a rally of up to 50,000 people.  Lest this be taken as a sign, however, that the opposition will be allowed to freely express their views, news just in suggests that the Kremlin has, in fact, already drawn its sword.   From the Guardian:

Armed police have launched a series of early morning raids on the homes of prominent opposition activists as Moscow braces itself for the next mass street demonstration against President Vladimir Putin.