During the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, personally discharged Medvedev from Gorbachev's security. Medvedev obeyed a direct order from his superior and left Gorbachev in Crimea, for which Gorbachev never forgave him. In March 1992 Medvedev retired from the KGB and later worked for a Russian firm providing security to foreign tourists. In 1994 he published his memoirs, "Man behind the back" ("Человек за спиной").