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The leaders of Russia's leading faiths put forward another initiative and made an appeal to the President concerning the introduction of a chaplains institute in the Armed Forces.

At a meeting today with spiritual leaders attended by the heads of a number of ministries and departments, Dmitry Medvedev expressed his support for these ideas.

An experiment on teaching in schools the fundamentals of religious culture, the history of religion and the foundations of secular ethics will be launched in 2010 in 18 regions of Russia and will last for three years.

Students and their families will be invited to choose their subject of study: the fundamentals of Orthodox culture, Islam, Buddhism and Judaism. Those who want to explore the diversity of Russian religious life will be able to take a general course on the history of Russia's major traditional religions, Mr Medvedev noted. Only secular teachers will teach these subjects. Students who have no religious beliefs will have an alternative available, the study of the foundations of secular ethics.

Mr Medvedev drew the attention of government agencies and the Presidential Executive Office to the fact that since these decisions affect the most sensitive spheres, officials need to practise openness, sensitivity, goodwill and patience.

Mr Medvedev emphasised that it is important that for students and their parents the choice of such a programme be absolutely voluntary.