Can we teach Human Rights and Democratic Citizenship in the environment where those practices are lacking, are unwelcome by existing political regimes and even punished? We believe, we should, because in such political environments it is the classroom, or the other , specially created learning space - with the special rules of behavior and purpose of learning democratic citizenship and human rights - it is often " the last resort" where those values can be preserved, re-established, cultivated and protected. This paper explores two very different cases on how learning spaces for democratic citizenship education were created - in formal University format - at HSE in Moscow - and in more informal environment - network of Schools of Public Policy (Open Russia Foundation), their different advantages compared. Suggestions will be made on possible merging "formal" and " informal" models of education for democratic citizenship.
