Preliminary research: Russia and Perfection

Karen Cortez
Dec 27, 2019
4 min read

Updated: Apr 26, 2020

26th April 2020:

I just found this draft in my drafts folder, from December last year. Not complete so will continue where I left off and repost as a complete article later.

It's time for Country no. 2! From my list of potential research subjects (you can find it here), I have decided to pursue my interest in the Russian promise:

Spotted it yet?

"To strive for spiritual perfection".

Whaaaaat?! This stood out to me immediately that night whilst researching and while I haven't checked every Promise in WAGGGS, of the 20-odd promises I read that night there was not a single promise that included the idea of "spiritual perfection".

Huge disclaimer: I know nothing about Russia. I didn't do Modern History in school so know almost nothing about the World Wars other than how the second one started the UN (I did do Legal Studies!). The first thing I know as a fact about Russia is literally this Promise and Law! And that a couple cool composers came from there and that the Russian music schools are really big on scales and technical work, more than any other teaching system. So to my mind, this idea of "perfection" appears to be a Russian idea, but I no evidence for it. Let's go!

The big question: Is the idea of "spiritual perfection" related to Russia's culture, beliefs or prominent religions?

To begin my investigation of the Russian promise, I first read the blurb provided by WAGGGS. Below is the blurb, with the sections I intend to investigate in bold:

" Development of the Movement

Scouting developed across many areas of Russia relatively quickly, perhaps as early as 1909. There are records of girl patrols in a range of towns from this time onward, but there was no national girls’ organisation.

Scouting was banned in 1919, and the Young Pioneers became the official state youth organisation. Many units continued to exist unofficially, but all had ceased by the mid 1920's.

Scouting returned in the years of perestroika. Many international contacts were made with foreign visits and aid offered as a result of the Chernobyl disaster. There was much interest on an international level in bringing Scouting back to Russia.

In 1991 FSR (Federation of Scouts of Russia) was created and almost immediately there was discussion on a programme specifically for girls. In 1993 in Perm the founding conference of the League of Girl Scouts of FSR took place. The girls’ programme and Movement developed, and in 1994 in October in Perm the next step was taken as the Russian Association of Girl Scouts had its founding conference. Representatives of WAGGGS and Girl Scout leaders from across the country (including other Scouting organisations as well as FSR) were present. A national board was elected and RADS as it is known today was established.

In 1996 RADS had its first National Girl Scout camp, and its biannual conference met again in Perm. The structure of the Association was altered slightly for more efficient management and expansion. All through the revival of Girl Scouting in Russia and the formation of RADS, much support in many forms was given by the UK as link country.

RADS today

RADS today has the special challenge of continuing to build a national association in the largest country on earth. Russia contains many nationalities and ethnic groups, and this regional diversity is visible in RADS too."

Focus questions:

What was Russia like in 1909? Who was Russia friends with?
Who are the Young Pioneers and what are their values?
What attitudes and beliefs accompanied perestroika?
Who gave Russia aid during the Chernobyl disaster?
What is the FSR promise, and is it any different to the one WAGGGS has published for RADS?
Are UK Guides' and RADS' ideas about religion as outlined in their promises related?
What nationalities and ethnic groups exist in Russia and does this inform the RADS' statement on attaining spiritual perfection?

Let's get cracking!

1. What was Russia like in 1909? Who was Russia friends with?

I was strongly advised to first understand Russia's general history, so I consulted this article to get an history of Russia's government: https://www.history.com/topics/russia/russian-revolution

According to that, in the early 1900's Russia was just moving to industrialisation, after having only abolished serfdom (serving land-owners) in the second half of the 19th century. Russia was under the rule of the Czar Nicholas II, and was proving unpopular with a population suffering food shortages. In 1905, the czar's troops opened fire on unarmed protesters, prompting the Czar to announce the development of the Dumas - assemblies to work towards reform. So it sounds like around this time people were generally a bit unhappy, and according to Wikipedia, prior to 1917 the Russian Orthodox Church was enjoying state support and a resurgence towards spirituality, particularly amongst the peasantry. The Russian Orthodox Church was involved in the "russification" process of

I also found out that in 1914 Russia joined WW1 alongside Britain and France. Since Guiding and Scouting was starting up around this time in Britain, perhaps Russia would have been interested in emulating British things?