St. George Pathfinders continues the global scouting tradition founded by Robert Baden-Powell in 1907. Inspired by Scouting for Boys, we prepare youth for life through outdoor adventures, teamwork, and leadership, fostering strong, honorable individuals dedicated to serving God, their country, and their community.

Following the 1917 Russian Revolution, the Soviet regime banned scouting in 1922, replacing it with the state-controlled Young Pioneers. Despite this suppression, devoted leaders like Boris Borisovich Martino kept scouting alive underground. During World War II, Martino organized secret scout groups in Nazi-occupied Russia, ensuring the movement’s survival. In 1945, exiled Russian scout leaders reestablished the movement under the name Организация Российских Юных Разведчиков (ОРЮР), or the “Organization of Russian Young Scouts.”

On September 15, 1945, Druzhina Nizhniy Novgorod was founded in a Displaced Persons (DP) camp in the city of Regensburg, Germany. At the Christmas celebration on January 8, 1946, twelve members took the oath as razvedchiki, and eight as volchata.

In 1946, an international committee of DP scouts was organized in Regensburg, bringing together Ukrainians, Russians, Latvians, Lithuanians, Belarusians, Poles, and by 1948, Germans as well. The committee (with Viktor Rozenberg appointed as the Russian representative) energized scouting life in the camps: competitions were held, international campfires with performances took place, and scouts participated in all the important events of camp life, marching in parades and assemblies.

By the end of 1946, the Druzhina had grown to 40 members. In addition to camps and competitions, they managed to organize four two-day overnight hikes and twenty day hikes.

Our Druzhina eventually made its home in Los Angeles after the second world war, where for generations this community has grown together in service, friendship, and faith.