Six years ago my friends and I came to conclusion that people should able to improve their life’s quality simply by being kind to each other! If we egoistically continue to prefer to ignore this... humanity will surely continue its relentless regression.

I have for proof, for I have lived in it, that even in the most difficult and adverse conditions, such as in Stalin's GULAG, people were able to survive just by being kind to each other!

In our Russian language, the word for kindness “dobrota” also means “richness”. For centuries both were synonymous. But we have forgotten the understanding that being kind to each other is also being rich in the sense that our communities are much more successful. Shouldn’t we insure a better future for humanity by returning to these two values?

We must balance the hundreds of military schools, armies in the world that have only killing in their teachings? We need to create teaching environments that promote kindness above all! There were times when Churches took responsibility for these teachings, some still do it wel, but many have let go on their authority, disgraced themselves with scandal, or simply abandoned it all to commercialism.

That is why we founded the International Academy of Kindness.

Its first priority is to reach out to the world and show that it is possible to teach and educate people to be kind in their everyday life and solve problems from the “Kindness” point of view. Children are not born a good or a bad, we have a chance here to elevate kindness to its rightfull place; its up to us, how we educate them. The Academy wishes that “kindness teachings” would be part of every school program around the world!

The second objective of our Academy is to support people whose lives and actions clearly follow the “kindness” principals, people who promote them in their daily activities.

Each country should have a «kindness day» , and celebrate it every year. We have written about this idea to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and the Patriarch of Russia Cyril 1st.; many more people should write to their own governments on the idea. For a few years now, we have celebrated the Kindness day in Moscow, on Gogolevsky Boulevard, where the head office of our Academy is located.

The world is full of contradictions that always lead to conflicts. The only exit from this vicious circle is to solve them from kindness point of view. Because only kindness and gratitude can save the world and make it better.

Gregory Pototsky
President, International Academy of Kindness