Belarusian Scout Association

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Scouting organization

Belarusian Scout Association
Organizational data
Name Ab'yadnannye Belaruskikh Skautaǔ
Location Minsk
Country Belarus
Founded 1991
Membership 1,500
Scouting Scouting portal

The Belarusian Scout Association (ABS, Аб'яднанне беларускіх скаўтаў, transliterated Ab'yadnannye Belaruskikh Skaǔtaǔ) is one of the nationwide Scouting organizations in Belarus. The association was founded in 1991 and liquidated in 2005 by the Supreme Court of Belarus, but still continues to operate. In 1995, the association served about 1,500 members.

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[edit] History

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), which existed from 1945 to 1951 in Germany.

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, Buiki, Homyel, Hrodna, Rahačoŭ, Ruba, and Vileika. The Chairperson in 1998 was Nikolai Grakov. Critics of the pro-Russian National Scout Association of Belarus saw it as a government mouthpiece and direct descendant of the communist Pioneers, 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 Supreme Court of Belarus, but still continues to operate.

The Scout Motto of ABS is "Napagatove!", translating as "Be Prepared" in Belarusian. The Belarusian noun for a single Scout is Скаўт. The official language of ABS is Belarusian.

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[edit] References

Belaruski Skaowting (in English 'Belarusian Scouting'), by Lozka, Ales', in Belarusian (Narkomovka), Minsk, Polimya Publishers, 1997, 190 pages; ISBN 985-07-0213-3; print run 2,500 copies, printed by the Belarusian Scout Association Ab'yadnannye Belaruskikh Skautaǔ.