Russian investigators searched the homes of several key opposition figures and summoned them for questioning just an hour before a mass demonstration against President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on June 12, in what was widely seen as a crude attempt to scare away the protesters. Undeterred, tens of thousands took part in the first mass protest against Putin since his inauguration in May.
Photos: Russian opposition activists
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ALEXEI NAVALNYA 36-year-old corruption-fighting lawyer and popular blogger has played a key role in mobilizing Russia's young Internet generation to rally against Vladimir Putin's rule. The charismatic and ambitious Navalny spearheaded a series of rallies in Moscow during the winter that brought up to 100,000 people in the streets in the run-up to March's vote in which Putin won a third presidential term. He reaches tens of thousands through his blog and has more than 250,000 followers on Twitter.
Navalny has tapped into people's anger over the corruption that pervades public life, and has described Putin's political party as the "party of crooks and thieves." (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)
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SERGEI UDALTSOVThe leader of the Left Front opposition movement, 35-year-old Udaltsov has been at the forefront of the anti-Putin protests for several years. A great-grandson of a Bolshevik revolutionary, Udaltsov has consistently defied the authorities, staging unsanctioned marches and rallies. He also launched numerous hunger strikes and spent weeks in hospitals amid concerns about his health.
During his political career, Udaltsov was arrested more than 100 times and spent months in prison. Udaltsov refused to show up for questioning along with other opposition figures summoned Tuesday and headed right to the opposition march instead. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)
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KSENIA SOBCHAKA 30-year-old socialite, TV host and restaurateur, who often has been described as a Russian equivalent of Paris Hilton, has become a new glamorous face of the opposition. Sobchak is the daughter of the late mayor of St.Petersburg who was Putin's mentor in the 1990s.
A personal relationship with Putin initially seemed to shield Sobchak from reprisals, but that immunity seems to have come to an end with a raid on her apartment Monday. She tweeted Monday that an investigator told her that she had made a mistake with mixing up with a "bad company."
"I never thought that we would slide back to such repressions," she said. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)
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ILYA YASHINA 28-year-old member of the leadership of the opposition Solidarity movement, has been among key organizers of recent anti-Putin protests. A fiery speaker, Yashin is a passionate critic of the government.
"A smart government deals with reasons for protest. A stupid government fights protesters," he said on his blog. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)
