MOSCOW, October 20. /TASS/. Political and public activists of the early 1990’s are marking the 25th anniversary since the foundation of the Democratic Russia movement, which played an important role in the milestone political events from 1991 to 1993.

Human rights coordinator Lev Ponomaryov, a former cochairman of Democratic Russia told TASS the activists and founders of the organization were expected to have a gala meeting at Moscow International University.

The movement was set up on October 20/21, 1990, at a constituent congress that brought together 1,671 delegates, many of them the personalities widely acclaimed in Russia and in other republics of the former USSR. A total of 23 of them were People’s Deputies (members of parliament) of the USSR and another 104, People’s Deputies of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.

At the outset of its history, the Democratic Russia would gather many-thousands-strong public rallies and it was a major force that brought Boris Yeltsin to the heights of state power in Russia.

However, it started losing popularity already after the parliamentary election of 1993 and gradually withdrew backstage.

Most of its leaders either transferred to other political organizations or quitted the political scene altogether.

The currently existing parties and movements with similar names are unrelated to the original Democratic Russia.