The Belarusian Scout Association (ABS, , transliterated ''Ab'yadnannye Belaruskikh Skaǔtaǔ'') is one of the nationwide

Scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

organizations in

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. The association was founded in 1991 and liquidated in 2005 by the

Supreme Court of Belarus The Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus is the highest-tier court inside of Belarus and acts as the final "court of review." Its general tasks include the oversight of lower-tier courts and it can render justice in areas of general civil an ...

, but still continues to operate. In 1995, the association served about 1,500 members.

History and program

The Belarusian Scout Association is an independent non-profit organization of children, youth and adults, descended from traditions of the World Scout Movement and from the Belarusian Scout troops and Belarusian Scout Association Abroad (BSAA; ''Аб`яднання Беларускiх Скаўтаў за мяжой'', АБСМ), which existed from 1945 to 1951 in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The Belarusian Scout Association was founded in 1991 by a small group of people from various cities, based in Minsk, officially registered in April, 1992, and had approximately 1,500 members as of 1995. Groups existed in the capital, as well as

Baranavichy Baranavichy or Baranovichi is a city in the Brest Region of western Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Baranavichy District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has a population of 170,817. ...

, Buiki, Homyel,

Hrodna Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, from Minsk, about from the border with Poland, and from the border with Lithuania. Grodno serves as the ad ...

Rahačoŭ Rahachow or Rogachev (, ; ; ; , ) is a town in Gomel Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Rahachow District. Rahachow is located between the Drut and Dnieper rivers. As of 2025, it has a population of 31,490. History The ...

, Ruba, and Vileika. The chairperson in 1998 was Nikolai Grakov. Critics of the pro-Russian Belarusian Republican Scout Association saw it as a

government mouthpiece Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

and direct descendant of the

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

Pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a person who is among the first at something that is new to a community. A pioneer as a settler is among the first settling at a place that is new to the settler community. A historic example are American pioneers, perso ...

s, whitewashed for western consumption. Hence, the dissident, Belarusian and democratically oriented Belarusian Scout Association had stayed separate, and largely underground due to political constraints. The ABS bought a country house to use as a camping center and organized regional camps there in the summer of 2003. One of the ABS regional newsletters became a citywide school paper with around 1000 circulation, as of 2004. The association was liquidated in 2005 by the

, but still continues to operate. The

Scout Motto The Scout Motto of the Scout movement is, in English, "Be Prepared", with most international branches of the group using a close translation of that phrase. These mottoes have been used by millions of Scouts around the world since 1907. Most of t ...

of ABS is ''Напагатове!'' (''Napahatove!''), ''Be Prepared'' in the

Belarusian language Belarusian (, ) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language. It is one of the two Languages of Belarus, official languages in Belarus, the other being Russian language, Russian. It is also spoken in parts of Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Polan ...

. The Belarusian noun for a single Scout is ''Скаўт''. The official language of ABS is Belarusian. The Scout emblem incorporates the

Cross of Lorraine The Cross of Lorraine (), known as the Cross of Anjou in the 16th century, is a heraldry, heraldic two-barred cross, consisting of a vertical line crossed by two shorter horizontal bars. In most renditions, the horizontal bars are "graded" with ...

, due to its appearance in the former national

coat of arms of Belarus A coat is typically an outer garment for the upper body, worn by any gender for warmth or fashion. Coats typically have long sleeves and are open down the front, and closing by means of buttons, zippers, hook-and-loop fasteners (AKA velcro), to ...

, the Pahonia.

Gallery

File:Belarusian Scout Association Abroad 1945-1951.png, Old Belarusian Scout badge, which existed from 1945 to 1951 in

File:Belarusian Scout Association Abroad.png, Membership badge of the ''Belarusian Scout Association Abroad'' (BSAA), which existed from 1945 to 1951 in

External links

Information on the association (outdated)

Liquidation of the Belarusian Scout Association

References

*''Belaruski Skautyng'' (in English 'Belarusian Scouting'), by Lozka, Ales', in Belarusian (Narkomovka), Minsk, Polymya Publishers, 1997, 190 pages; {{ISBN, 985-07-0213-3; print run 2,500 copies, printed by the Belarusian Scout Association ''Ab'yadnannye Belaruskikh Skautau''. Non-aligned Scouting organizations Scouting and Guiding in Belarus Youth organizations established in 1991 1991 establishments in Belarus

History and program

See also

Gallery

External links

References