November 24, 2001 - Is elected head of the Social Democratic Party of Russia.

February 8, 2004 - Wins a Grammy Award for best spoken word album for children from the Recording Academy for "Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf/Beintus: Wolf Tracks". He shares the award

with Sophia Loren and former President Bill Clinton.

May 2004 - Resigns from the Social Democratic Party of Russia over conflicts with party direction and leadership.

January 2006 - Along with a business partner, Gorbachev buys 49 percent of shares in the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper.

August 2007 - Appears in print advertisements for Louis Vuitton leather goods, photos taken by Annie Leibovitz.

October 2007 - Becomes head of a new Russian political movement, Union of Social Democrats.

September 19, 2008 - Receives the 2008 Liberty Medal, awarded each year by the National Constitution Center, which is chaired by former President George H.W. Bush.

November 2009 - Attends ceremonies in Berlin, Germany, marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

March 2, 2011 - On his 80th birthday, Gorbachev is awarded Russia's highest honor, the Order of St. Andrew, by President Dmitry Medvedev.