MOSCOW, December 13 (RIA Novosti) - A number of Russian politicians and public figures came together on Saturday at a congress to officially found a new opposition movement called Solidarity.

The movement's founding members included the former leader of the Union of Right Forces Boris Nemtsov, United Civil Front leader Garry Kasparov, human rights activist Lev Ponomarev, and the head of the Yabloko party's youth branch, Ilya Yashin.

"We need to restore the reputation of the people, with the aim of defending their ideas," former world chess champion Kasparov told the congress.

Yashin said that the policies of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin were destroying the country, warning that the regions were bound together with only a "thin layer of glue." He declared that only Solidarity could create a truly unified Russia.

The movement has chosen as its anthem the famous song "Changes" by Viktor Tsoi, one of the pioneers of Russian rock.

Although the movement brings together representatives of many different organizations, it is not an association of groups and members join in a personal capacity.