There is a certain crime that is embedded in the midst of our everyday lives. In a single moment, that crime devalues all our good deeds and initiatives. That crime: our reliance on murder and bodily harm to defend ourselves, our loved ones, and our homeland.
Each of us morally and materially supports the existence of armies, police, and other power structures. Their work is labeled “protection” and “prevention,” but in practice it consists of threatening to harm and kill humans.
But what could be more important in this life than learning not to harm or kill others?
Welcome to the Leo Tolstoy Center, where you can find answers to your most urgent questions about nonviolence, from overcoming personal indifference and aggressiveness, to renouncing citizenship, which is a status that relies on involuntary participation in crimes against human life.
Our guide can be useful to anyone who:
- cannot find yourself a place apart from the cruelty and callousness with which those around you defend lives and order
- cannot understand why this horror and shame makes practically no impression on Christians
- are confused by armed police on the streets and your obligation to obey “lawful orders” from the authorities
- do not wish to pay for legalized violence through your taxes
- do not want to be part of a society that finds security for itself through threats and killings.
The core document of our knowledge base is Nonviolence in Action: Methods and Approaches
If you have any questions: Tolstoy Center. Who we are. How to reach us