Democratic Russia
In April 1998, she became the leader of "Democratic Russia", then registered as an official party, in order to prepare for State Duma elections that were to be held in December 1999. State security people took the post of Prime Minister in succession at the time. Cabinet of GRU-connected Sergei Kiriyenko was replaced in August 1998 by cabinet of SVR veteran Yevgeny Primakov. New leadership also came to the state security services as Vladimir Putin was appointed as head of FSB in July 1998. Galina Starovoitova tried to prevent such people from coming to power using her personal connections with different political figures and with Yeltsin's wife, according to Valeriy Borschov.