Several Soviet republics have been torn apart by violent internal conflict since the break up of the USSR, with profound effect on the people living there. The Red Cross is helping schools put International Humanitarian Law into syllabuses for 11 and 12-year-olds in Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia.
It produced a textbook promoting non-violence, tolerance and reconciliation for every fifth-former across the four states, using extracts from classic and contemporary literature.
“In Russia passages from Tolstoy’s War and Peace are used to encourage young people to think about the consequences of violence, intolerance and ethnic hatred,” a spokeswoman says.
