Lidia Gerich, the oldest Russian scout in the world, has died at the age of 105.

The oldest Russian scout, Lidia Gerich, died at the age of 105 in the United States. This was announced on December 21 by her son Yuri Gerich.

"Mom went to the Lord on December 20, surrounded by family and friends. <...> To say that mom lived a life full of honor and faith is to say very little," Yuri said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

The first memorial service for Gerich was held at the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Washington, where she had been a parishioner for more than 60 years. She will be buried with Scout honors, including a guard of honor and banners of honor, in the Russian section of the cemetery in Washington.

Lydia Gerich was born in 1920 on the territory of present-day Belarus. Soon her family returned home to Latvia, where Lydia joined the Russian Scout squad in 1934. During the Great Patriotic War, they were forced to flee to the West, after which they remained in the United States.

In Washington, in the 1960s, Lydia created a scout squad, Putivl, which is currently the second largest organization of Russian Scouts in the United States.

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