Democratic Choice of Russia

Democratic Choice of Russia

Демократический выбор России
Democratic Choice of Russia Демократический выбор России
Abbreviation	DVR (English); ДВР (Russian)
Leader	Yegor Gaidar
Founded	17 October 1993 (Choice of Russia bloc) ; 12 June 1994 (Democratic Choice of Russia party)
Dissolved	19 May 2001
Succeeded by	Union of Right Forces
Headquarters	23th Building, Profsoyuznaya Street, Moscow
Newspaper	"Democratic Choice",; magazine "Open politics"
Ideology	Conservative liberalism; Liberal conservatism
Political position	Centre-right
Colours	White; Blue; Red
Slogan	"Liberty, Property, Legality"; (Russian: "Свобода, Собственность, Законность")
Seats in the 1st State Duma	64 / 450
Seats in the 2nd State Duma	9 / 450
Website
	dvr.ru
	Politics of Russia; Political parties; Elections;

The Democratic Choice of Russia (DCR),^[a] known before 1994 as the "Choice of Russia" Bloc (CR),^[b] was a Russian centre-right conservative-liberal political party. Later the party was self-disbanded and most members would merge into the Union of Right Forces.^[1]

Background and establishment

At the elections to the State Duma held on 12 December 1993, the Choice of Russia bloc (the predecessor to the Democratic Choice of Russia) received 15.51% of the vote, and consequently, 40 seats in the State Duma.

On 20 January 1994, having lost influence over making economic decisions and opposed to the increase of budget expenditure, the leader of the Choice of Russia, Yegor Gaidar, resigned from the government headed by Viktor Chernomyrdin. At that point the Choice of Russia lost its status as a pro-government faction, yet at the same time it continued to support president Boris Yeltsin and Chernomyrdin's government by providing constructive criticism of their policies.

On 12 and 13 June 1994, the founding meeting of the party Democratic Choice of Russia was held. At the meeting, the party's programme was adopted and its governing bodies were set up. Yegor Gaidar was elected as party chairman.^[2]

In 1995, the party contested the election in a coalition of (minor) like-minded groups, forming the Democratic Choice of Russia – United Democrats.^[3]

Later, in 2001, it merged into the Union of Rightist Forces.^[1]

Values

The party had valued ideas of both liberalism and conservatism. This included human rights, self-determination, a market economy, private capital investment, fair competition and the restriction of government regulations in the economy.

Election results

Presidential election

Election	Candidate	First round		Second round		Result
Election	Candidate	Votes	%	Votes	%	Result
1996	Endorsed Boris Yeltsin	26,665,495	35.32%	40,402,349	53.82%	Elected Y
2000	Endorsed Vladimir Putin	39,740,434	52.94%			Elected Y

State Duma elections

Election	Party leader	Performance					Rank	Government
Election	Party leader	Votes	%	± pp	Seats	+/–	Rank	Government
1993	Yegor Gaidar	8,339,345	15.51%	New	64 / 450	New	2nd	Coalition
1995		2,674,084	3.86% (DVR-OD)	11.65	9 / 450	55	4th	Opposition (1995–1997)
								Coalition (1997–1998)
								Opposition (1998–1999)
								Coalition (1999)
								Opposition (1999)
1999		5,677,247	8.52% (SPS)	4.66	29 / 450	20	4th	Coalition

Notes

^ Russian: Демократический выбор России (ДВР), romanized: Demokratičeskij vybor Rossii (DVR), IPA: [dʲɪməkrɐˈtʲitɕɪskʲɪj ˈvɨbər rɐˈsʲijɪ (ˌdɛˌvɛˈɛr)]
^ Russian: Блок «Выбор России» (ВР), romanized: Blok «Vybor Rossii» (VR), IPA: [bɫog ˈvɨbər rɐˈsʲijɪ (ˌvɛˈɛr)]

References

^ ^a ^b Abbas, Hassan (21 May 2001). "RUSSIA'S DEMOCRATIC CHOICE AND DEMOCRATIC RUSSIA DISBAND". Jamestown Foundation Monitor. 7 (98). Retrieved 26 December 2021.
^ "Russian Reformers Form a New Party". New York Times. Associated Press. 13 June 1994. p. 8. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
^ White, Stephen; Wyman, Matthew; Oates, Sarah (1997). "Parties and Voters in the 1995 Russian Duma Election". Europe-Asia Studies. 49 (7). Taylor & Francis, Ltd.: 767–798. doi:10.1080/09668139708412473. JSTOR 153485. Retrieved 26 December 2021.