For that reason on May 16 in Donetsk under leadership of Mykola Azarov was conducted a congress that adopted the name of future organization - Civil Congress of Ukraine (Russian: Гражданский конгресс Украины, Grazhdanskiy Kongress Ukrainy; GKU), an assembly of Russophone population of Ukraine.

Members of the provisional working presidium became Anatoliy Volchenko (Kharkiv division of the "Movement of democratic reforms"), Pavlo Khaimovych (Public organization "Elections 89"), Dmytro Kornilov (Interfront of the Donbass), Oleksandr Luzan ("Civil forum of Ukraine"), and Vladislav Karabulin (Don Cossacks).

Co-chairmen of the GKU became Oleksandr Bazyliuk (Movement for revival of Donbas), and parliamentarians Valeriy Meshcheriakov and Volodymyr Terekhov.

On December 18–19, 1993 in Kharkiv took place the fourth congress of GKU in order to nominate candidates of parliamentarians for the 1994 Ukrainian parliamentary election.

On March 16, 1996 GKU actively supported the creation of the Congress of Russian Organizations of Ukraine in Kyiv which was headed by Oleksandr Bazyliuk.

On May 15, 1999 in Donetsk took place the ninth congress of Slavic Party, which nominated Oleksandr Bazyliuk as a candidate to President of Ukraine.