On June 23, 2007, Navalny co-founded a new political movement, named "The People", which upheld the positions of "democratic nationalism", defined as a fight for democracy and the rights of ethnic Russians;[42] according to a Navalny's biographer, Navalny differentiates the ethnic and social aspects of the term, highlighting the latter.[46] (In Russian, "nation" is commonly defined as a social term, while "nationality" is seen as related to ethnicity.)
In June 2008, the movement joined forces with two other Russian nationalist movements, Movement Against Illegal Immigration (MAII) and Great Russia, to form a new coalition, Russian National Movement. Navalny declared the movement would participate in the next parliamentary elections, planning to get a great share of votes; he added, "up to 60% of the population upholds spontaneous nationalism, but it is not legally effectuated".[47] Later the same month, the MAII and The People signed a cooperation agreement; at the procedure, he defined the "new political nationalism" as democratic, "fundamentally and statistically", adding, "we can teach blatant liberals a thing or two". He also declared he wanted to distance the coalition from the skinheads, calling for close collaboration with the leftists and the liberals for fair elections the coalition "would win", and demanded for political liberalization and early parliamentary elections in Russia.[48]