Alexander Ryavkin, chair of the party's federal political board, said the name change is "a response to the objective needs of society."
The party also adopted the sunflower as its new symbol, as, according to Ryavkin, it is a plant associated with "upward movement."
He said overcoming the 7% vote minimum required to enter the State Duma, or the Russian legislature's lower house, and forming a parliamentary faction should not be a problem for Civic Force, as there seems to be no one else able to fill "a glaring void" on the right of the country's political spectrum.
"Russia has long been in need of a truly democratic party," he said. "The Union of Right Forces [SPS] and Yabloko, both mired in infighting, have betrayed their electorate, in fact."
Free Russia was set up in 2004 by former SPS leader Irina Khakamada to revive the liberal movement in the country, which many in the West criticize for alleged backsliding on democracy.
