In early August of 2005, the Western Alaska Council hosted a hosted youth group from Magadan, Russia for a two day adventure of backpacking and water fun. Troop 230 hosted the group, and served as their primary escorts while they were here. It took a year of coordination, but it all came together as planned. We met the Russian contingent at the airport, took them on a mini-tour of Anchorage, eating breakfast together. There was a request to "see Wallmart," and so we did, taking a few minutes out for some "shopping" American style. The Eagle River Wallmart employees got all of the group together, and sang them a "Wallmart Song", and then handed out Wallmart Pins to everyone. It was quite a shopping adventure even for us!
During the two day event, each American scout was paired up with a Russian of the same age, and our main activity was a joint backpacking hike down the Eagle River Southfork Trail, all the way to Symphony Lake. Because the Russian contingent had three girls in their group, Troop 230 linked up with the Western Alsaka Council's Venture Crew 76, making this the first 'co-ed' adventure in the troop's history. All together, we had a blast and we made friends we will never forget.
Magadan is located approximately 2000 miles west of Anchorage, in the far eastern portion of the Russian republic. These Russian scouts are part of scouting as they know it, although its a lot different than the program we are used to in America. In Russian, their scouting program is called a "technical boys' club" and a large part of their activities includes military experiences. Most of the scouts had parachuted out of an airplane, and one fourteen year old had made 20 parachute jumps. Even the youngest boys had jumped out of airplanes! Wow. WOW!
Their primary adult leader is Vladislav Akolzin, and he goes by the title of PODVIG director. The goals of their scouting program are similar to our own scout goals. PODVIG strives to raise good citizens for the country of Russia, to teach boys to become good husbands and good fathers, and to teach the responsibility of the right and the wrong. The word PODVIG has a secret meaning, and it roughly translated means "Youngsters Possessing Valor, Tenacity, Initiative, and Pride." Baden Powell's original scout program was derived from his experiences as a British army Colonel, and the Russian scouting program likewise reminds one of an army subunit. Like our own scout troops, their older and more experienced boys move up into leadership positions, and make the decisions of their unit and help plan and run their program. They organize challenging activities, and then split off into areas of interest. Some of their activities include parachuting, paragliding, swimming, go-carting, hand-to-hand fighting, sambo, athletics, computers, video, photo lab training, metalwork, and woodworking.
We had a great time swapping stories, and sharing our differences and our commonality. We come from the same world, and as young men striving to make this planet a better place we share far more in our goals that one might think. Above all else, we had fun, and for those scouts in Troop 230 that got a chance to meet these guys, it was an experience none can every forget. We made friends, and in the process the world got a tiny bit smaller. It was neat to be part of Troop 230, and helping to make that happen.
