The former Russian prime minister, Mr Yevgeny Primakov, yesterday accepted a leadership post in a new political alliance formed by the powerful Moscow mayor, Mr Yury Luzhkov, and senior regional governors that is likely to mount a powerful challenge to President Yeltsin.
Mr Primakov, in a written statement, said the coalition, called Fatherland-All Russia, will "unite all healthy, centrist forces" that would remain open to Russia's other leading political figures.
Mr Primakov's announcement, long anticipated, creates one of the strongest new political alliances in Russia and posing a serious challenge to both the Kremlin and the Communist Party.
The alliance will be headed by Mr Primakov. The number two post will be occupied by Mr Luzhkov, while the St Petersburg governor, Mr Vladimir Yakovlev, will take the number three position, Interfax news agency said.
Mr Primakov currently enjoys the highest public opinion approval rating in Russia, although he is trailed closely by Mr Luzhkov. Both are seen as possible contenders in next June's presidential elections.
During his nine months in office - a lengthy stretch by recent Russian standards - Mr Primakov won credit for stabilising the economy after the disastrous rouble crisis of August last year, and was increasingly seen as a contender for next year's presidential elections. It was almost certainly this factor, and his growing popularity with ordinary Russians, that led Mr Yeltsin to dismiss him. By the end of his term of office the president was even refusing to shake his hand. Mr Primakov's standing in the polls has continued to rise since his dismissal, and he said recently he "does not rule out" an attempt to succeed Mr Yeltsin next year.
In and out of office, his affable manner and quiet authority won him friends across the political spectrum, not least among the Communists and their supporters, who dominate parliament.
A Gorbachev protege, Mr Primakov was appointed head of Moscow's foreign intelligence services in October 1991. He survived for two years as foreign minister, leading Russia's opposition to NATO'S expansion into the former Soviet sphere of influence in eastern Europe.
He won kudos in parliament by drafting Communists into the government and slowing the pace of reform, and used his diplomatic skills to channel Russian outrage over NATO's strikes against Yugoslavia without getting the country involved in a war.
But his growing popularity at home and appreciation abroad, allied to suspicions that he was intent on limiting the president's sweeping powers, put an end to his stint in the Kremlin, his dismissal coming on the eve of parliamentary hearings called to discuss Mr Yeltsin's possible impeachment.