Democratic Russia
A number of formerly DR deputies won seats in subsequent elections to the new parliament, the Federal Assembly, where they joined new factions across the political spectrum, from pro-Yeltsin "Russia's Choice" (Lev Ponomaryov and Gleb Yakunin) to the pro-Communist Agrarian Party.It was led by five to six co-chairs, a group that at different times included Ponomaryov, Yury Afanasyev (head of Russian State University for Humanities), Gavriil Popov (Chairman of the Moscow City Soviet who left DRM after his election as Mayor in 1991), Gleb Yakunin, Galina Starovoitova, Marina Salye et al.The overall political orientation of its leadership was liberal and united around the common goal of removing the CPSU from power, but internal factions immediately emerged both on the left and on the right.It was much more divided over local politics, particularly the high-speed privatization initiated by Moscow and St.Petersburg authorities (including its own former leaders and candidates) that many viewed as rigged in favor of Communist-era establishment and "the mafia".By this time, membership in DRM reached 300,000,[4] which made it the largest nationwide political organization when CPSU ceased to exist in the aftermath of the coup in late August 1991.It was also the closest to Yeltsin's administration and played a significant role in the events that led to the formation of Yegor Gaidar's government in November 1991 and subsequent dissolution of the USSR.In the fall of 1991, its members of more nationalistic orientation distanced themselves from Yeltsin's policies that led to the dissolution of the USSR and his encouragement of more autonomy for ethnic republics within Russia proper.After a brief struggle to regain control over DRM, Afanasyev and his one-time ally Marina Salye tried to build an alternative nationwide movement, but had to abandon this effort by late 1992.In the 1993 election to the newly created Federal Assembly, DRM participated as a collective founding member of "Russia's Choice", the most pro-Yeltsin bloc, led by Gaidar.A rump organization, led by Ponomaryov, Starovoitova et al., maintained its presence on the margins of national politics (both as DRM and as its short-lived subsidiary, Federal Party Democratic Russia).