VIII.

Life as a Private Citizen

After leaving office, Gorbachev remained publicly active, focusing much of his energy on the Foundation for Social, Economic, and Political Research in Moscow (also called the Gorbachev Foundation), which he established in December 1991. He continued to speak in favour of democratic socialism, lecturing frequently outside Russia and taking part in international conferences. His memoirs, Life and Reforms, were published in Russia in 1995. Although many Russian people blamed him for the ills of the post-Soviet era, Gorbachev decided to run in the 1996 Russian presidential elections, portraying himself as an experienced and moderate candidate. In the first round of the election, held in June, Gorbachev won only 386,000 votes, or one half of one per cent of those cast. His nemesis, presidential incumbent Boris Yeltsin, led the polls and was elected to a second term in the runoff election in July.