How Lenin banned the Boy Scouts and replaced them with a state-run cult—now rebuilt by Putin
When Vladimir Lenin outlawed the Boy Scouts in 1920, he was eliminating more than a youth organization. He was erasing an idea— that young people could learn to think independently, act with conscience, and serve their communities outside the control of the state. The Boy Scouts, with their emphasis on self-reliance, moral development, and public service, were everything Lenin feared: a foundation for free citizens, not obedient subjects.
