After surviving the unsuccessful August Coup of 1991, and following subsequent referendums in the constituent Soviet republics seeking independence, Gorbachev was forced to resign office on December 25, 1991. The Soviet Union was dissolved the following day. Although still thought of fondly in the West, Gorbachev did not maintain his popularity at home. After his "retirement" he was forced to live on a pension that deteriorated quickly in value as the Russian currency collapsed in the post-Communist era. Gorbachev was awarded the 1990 [[Nobel Peace Prize]].<ref>[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/ Nobel Peace Prize]</ref>
In 1992 Gorbachev founded The International Foundation for Socio-Economic and Political Studies (The Gorbachev Foundation), an independent think tank committed to "democratic values and moral, humanistic principles in the life of society".<ref>http://www.gorby.ru/en/rubrs.asp?rubr_id=302</ref> He is also the founding president and a board member of the environmental group Green Cross International.<ref>http://dev.gci.creativ-conseil.ch/joomy/</ref>An advocate of [[population control]], Gorbachev is also a member of Club of Madrid.
==Attitude toward religion==