The Scout movement in Belarus consisted of 1200 members when it joined the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) in 2010. [1] There are at least five nationwide associations as well as some regional associations. In addition, there were at one time Scouts-in-Exile in metropolitan areas of the United States, and there are presently international Scout units in Belarus.
The initial development of Scouting in Belarus took place within the Russian Scout movement, which was headed by general Oleg Pantyukhov. Belarus was a part of the Russian Empire at that time. The first Scout organisations were not independent. Instead they were totally a part of the Russian Scout movement. They first gathered in Gomel. In 1912 several Boy- and Girl-Scout organisations existed in Gomel. They were Russian, Polish and Jewish. [2] In 1915 there were already 170 little wolves (this nickname was used to call children aged from 7 to 11 years). Russian Scout organisations that were a part of Organization of Russian Young Pathfinders existed in other towns of Belarus. In 1922 after the end of Russian Civil War Scouting had been banned by the Soviet Union, and Scout activities ended. In April 1926 many leaders and members were arrested and imprisoned by Joint State Political Directorate. Most of them were sent to Solovki prison camp. Some of the Scouts and Scout-leaders fled abroad. They later continued their activity in National Organization of Russian Scouts. Russian exiles in France turned cadets into Scouts, but in a more Catholic (local French) manner. Some of them where officers from Belarusian families, who immigrated to France after World War I.
West Belarus became a part of the Second Polish Republic according to the Peace of Riga after Polish–Soviet War. Along with the new Polish authorities Polish Scouting and Guiding Association spread in Belarus. A Scout organization was founded in Kletsk, and Scouts appeared in Nyasvizh and other nearby villages. In 1929, American Methodists helped found a Girl Scout organization in Vilnius (which was named Vilna at that time). It lasted until 1929.
In the period following World War II, ethnic Belarusians gathered in Scout troops in exile and in Scout troops in displaced persons camps throughout Europe, as did Russian Scouts, Ukrainians and Balts. Belarusian Scouts formed the organization Belarusian Scout Association Abroad (Belarusian : Згуртаваньне Беларускіх Скаўтаў на Чужыне, English acronym BSAA, Cyrillic acronym ZBSCh), which existed from 1945 to 1951 in Germany. [3] White Ruthenian Scouts remained active in the United States until at least the 1970s led by Vytaut Kipel, unlike other ethnic organizations under the Boy Scouts of America umbrella. Belarusian scouts participated in the conference of scouts in exile held in New York on July 12, 1952 together with Latvians, Lithuanians, Estonians, Ukrainians, Russians, Poles, Hungarians and Yugoslavs. [4]
Unlike the other organizations, however, the BSAA did not survive to witness the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Whereas Russia, Poland and Ukraine in particular had ready-made Scouting available once allowed in 1990-1991, Belarus had to start essentially from scratch.
Emergence of democratic principles in the mid-1980s made possible the creation of alternatives to the communist pioneer organizations. Close connections were formed with Guide and Scout organizations of many European countries, when children from areas affected by the Chernobyl accident were invited to summer camps abroad during the Chernobyl Children's Project in 1990. Especially close links were developed with Cyprus, and between Minsk and the Guides of Lincolnshire. In 1992, Cyprus was officially appointed Link country to support the development of Guiding in Belarus, and in June 1993 the first conference of the Association of Belarusian Guides was held in Minsk.
Note: There may have been a link between one of the non-NSAB Belarusian Scout organizations and the Union Internationale des Guides et Scouts d'Europe, a Christian-based Scout alternative, but it is uncertain to whom they were linked.
Several countries have multiple organizations, divided on the basis of religion (for example, France and Denmark), ethnic identification (as is the case in Bosnia and Israel), or language (like Belgium). Belarus instead has regional Scouting organizations. Regional Scouting divisions of Belarus include the GomelScouts in Gomel. Because usage of the Belarusian language and the Russian language are contentious issues in the country, the emblem itself is captioned in English.
The lands of Belarus during the Middle Ages became part of Kievan Rus' and were split between different principalities, including Polotsk, Turov, Vitebsk, and others. Following the Mongol invasions of the 13th century, these lands were absorbed by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which later was merged into the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 16th century.
The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Byelorussia, Soviet Belarus, or simply Belarus, was a republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 1991 as one of fifteen constituent republics of the USSR, with its own legislation from 1990 to 1991. The republic was ruled by the Communist Party of Byelorussia and was also referred to as Soviet Byelorussia or Soviet Belarus by a number of historians. Other names for Byelorussia included White Russia or White Russian Soviet Socialist Republic and Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Gomel Region or Homieĺ Region, also known as Gomel Oblast or Homyel Voblasts, is one of the regions of Belarus. Its administrative center is Gomel.
Mazyr or Mozyr is a city in Gomel Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Mazyr District. It is situated on the Pripyat River about 210 kilometres east of Pinsk and 100 kilometres northwest of Chernobyl in Ukraine. As of 2023, it has a population of 105,321.
The Republican Scout Association of Belarus is one of several nationwide Scouting associations in Belarus. It is the body recognized by the World Organization of the Scout Movement from 1998 to 2004 and again from September 5, 2010.
Scoutingin Slovenia is served by three associations:
The Eurasian Scout Region was the divisional office of the World Scout Bureau of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, headquartered in Kyiv, formerly located at Gurzuf near Yalta-Krasnokamianka, Ukraine, with a branch office in Moscow. All the formerly communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Soviet Union have developed or are developing Scouting in the wake of the renaissance in the region. These include most of the successor states to the Soviet Union, in the Commonwealth of Independent States. The 1996/99 Triennial Report of the World Scout Committee/World Organization of the Scout Movement shows that WOSM is aggressively pursuing the organization of Scouting activities in the countries of the former Soviet Union, according to its own vision.
Scouting in Ukraine received World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) recognition in July 2008. The Eurasian Region headquarters is located on Ukrainian territory.
The Palestinian Scout Association is the organization responsible for the Scout movement in Palestine.
The Association of Belarusian Guides is the Belarusian member organization of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), with a membership of 1,274 Girl Guides.
The Scout and Guide movement in Canada is served by many separate organizations, some with various national and international affiliations.
Translate be-x-old:Аб'яднаньне беларускіх скаўтаў to English
Scouting and Guiding in Lithuania consist of a number of different organizations, some of them connected to international bodies. Besides open associations, there are also some for the national minorities living in Lithuania, as well as Girl Scouts of the USA.
There are various controversies and conflicts that involve the Scouting movement. Scouting has sometimes become entangled in social controversies such as in nationalist resistance movements in India. Scouting was introduced to Africa by British officials as an instrument of colonial authority but became a subversive challenge to the legitimacy of British imperialism as Scouting fostered solidarity amongst African Scouts. There are also controversies and challenges within the Scout Movement itself such as current efforts to turn Scouts Canada into a democratic organization.
The Scout and Guide movement in Australia consists of:
Scouting has been active in displaced persons camps and in the lives of refugees since World War I. During and after World War II, until the early 1950s, Scouting and Guiding flourished in these camps. These Scout and Girl Guide groups often provided postal delivery and other basic services in displaced persons camps. This working system was duplicated dozens of times around the world. In the present, Scouting and Guiding once again provide services and relief in camps throughout war-torn Africa.
Belarus and Ukraine are both are full members of the Baku Initiative and Central European Initiative. In 2020, during the Belarusian protests against president Lukashenko, the relationship between Ukraine and Belarus began to deteriorate, after the Ukrainian government criticized Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko. In the waning days of 2021, the relationship between both countries rapidly deteriorated, culminating in a full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022. Belarus has allowed the stationing of Russian troops and equipment in its territory and its use as a springboard for offensives into northern Ukraine but has denied the presence of Belarusian troops in Ukraine. Even though part of the Russian invasion was launched from Belarus, Ukraine did not break off diplomatic relations with Belarus, but remain frozen.
The Belarusian diaspora refers to emigrants from the territory of Belarus as well as to their descendants.
