diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 4f6a9e1077edcedb47125dcb9118e1e1a04a4537..c544200689c38abf555a67276d6d3922eb46ba0d 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-RELEASE 5.2.alpha-svn
+RELEASE 5.3.alpha-svn