“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.” – wrote Leo Tolstoy in War And Peace. The great Russian writer was a philosopher and social activist, and against all kind of violence, including the killing of animals for food.

He was born 200 km away from Moscow, near Tula, fought in the Crimean war where he began to develop his pacifist views. A highly controversial character, his ideas, novels and life are still highly relevant in the modern world. War and Peace remains one of the greatest novels ever written. “Greatest” is a word which Tolstoy does not take lightly. As he himself said, “there is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness, and truth.”

So come to the Pushkin House Wine Club on the 10th October, 19.00–20.30 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of War and Peace and the life of its author with wines he might have drunk and enjoyed. And as usual, someone will go home with a prize wine after winning the mini-quiz.