ER was founded on the basis of the "Equal Rights" faction of the Supreme Soviet as a NGO in 1993.
The Equal Rights faction (Russian: Равноправие) had been founded in April, 1990,[1] after the 1990 Latvian parliamentary election.
In 1998, ER joined with two other predominantly Russian parties, the Latvian Socialist Party and the National Harmony Party to found the alliance For Human Rights in United Latvia (Latvian: Par Cilvēka Tiesībām Vienotā Latvijā; ForHRUL).
From 2001 ER's leader was Tatjana Ždanoka and its chairman was Vladimir Buzayev.
The party failed to win any seats in the 2010 legislative election.