Belarusian Scout Association: Difference between revisions

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 [[Pioneer Movement|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.