Poland's militias 'ready for anything' amid rising tensions with Russia

[GennGreymane]

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/27/eu...ion/index.html

Warsaw, Poland (CNN)Poland scrapped compulsory military service in 2008. Less than a decade later, some now question the wisdom of that move.

Russia is throwing its weight around eastern Europe, stocking up its isolated Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad with far more armaments than its neighbor feels comfortable with.

"The situation is starting to resemble the situation during the Cold War," says Polish Under Secretary of State, Ministry of Defense, Tomasz Szatkowski. "There are a number of fronts, a number of situations that could turn into proxy wars."

Kaliningrad has a 200 kilometer border with Poland -- and as the world saw in Crimea, when Russia wants to protect its vital assets, it doesn't mind crossing borders to do so.

But Vladimir Putin's muscle-flexing in the region has Poles in a patriotic fervor, and it's turning into a boon for the Polish government.
Old militias on the rise

The politics of Poland preclude the country from reinstating military conscription, like neighboring Lithuania did last year. But fears over Russian aggression has thousands of young people lining up to join Poland's historic militias.

Known as the Riflemen's Associations, some have century-old roots that predate the Polish state, when underground forces fought Russian Bolsheviks and Moscow's communists.

To say that Poland has no desire to live under Moscow's heel again is an understatement, and the government knows it, which is why it's backing the resurgence of the old militias.

"It helps to have a better trained, better skilled pool of people that can be called into military service at a time of crisis," explains Szatkowski.


On the outskirts of Warsaw is a forest interrupted by waterways and tracks littered with abandoned military bunkers and outhouses. It's become a weekend home away from home for local militias.
On a rainy weekend in October, new recruits mounted a full speed assault on a military-style jungle gym, complete with subterranean tunnels and terrifying jumps.

We watched as Adamczewska dragged herself through ditches of near freezing water, hauled tree trunks, and ran for miles. She answered coded quizzes, searched for explosives in pitch black dungeons, and survived a simulated attack.
"I'm tired, but generally happy and would like to do it again," Adamczewska says. "Three quarters of our society are worried about what Russia is doing in Crimea and Ukraine, it's not just me."

Adamczewska's walk may have been a little slower by the end of the session, but her grin was twice as wide. Many of the recruits we met now have a little extra to smile about -- they know support from the government will boost their training and up their game.

'We're ready for anything'
Jan Piotrowski has been in the militia seven years. He's only 23 but, like so many in Poland, follows the tradition of boy scouts that seamlessly integrates itself into the culture of weekend warrior. He sees his future in the security business but his weekends for now are for the Riflemen, training hopefuls like Marta Adamczewska.

"More money means more training and better training, and that's good," says Piotrowski. "We want to be ready for anything that causes a threat to Poland."

Some Poles worry that the new rightwing government is opening a back door for private militias to be used against the country's citizens, rather than for them.

But the Riflemen say their political heritage is not up for grabs -- and neither is Poland, which means a lot more cold wet weekends ahead.

[Deleted]

Ready for what? Ready for fear-mongering so they get easy money "help"? Country is 98% Polish, it basically has no mentionable minorities to speak of, it has no strategic value, heck North Stream was built just to avoid it as Poland as seen as untrustworthy n now North Stream 2 will be built.
"Putin is gonna get us cuz he's totally ewul! PLZ SEND AS MUCH CASH AS YOU CAN!"

At least Baltikum has a size-able Rus minority. Poland is...

Irrelevant.

[satimy]

Ready for what? Ready for fear-mongering so they get easy money "help"? Country is 98% Polish, it basically has no mentionable minorities to speak of, it has no strategic value, heck North Stream was built just to avoid it as Poland as seen as untrustworthy n now North Stream 2 will be built.
"Putin is gonna get us cuz he's totally ewul! PLZ SEND AS MUCH CASH AS YOU CAN!"

At least Baltikum has a size-able Rus minority. Poland is...

Irrelevant.

That didn't seem to stop Stalin and hitler


Are you allowed to own guns in Poland?

[Deleted]

That didn't seem to stop Stalin and hitler

I think those guys r ded, yo.

Are you allowed to own guns in Poland?

dunno but it is a country in eastern europe so that means 99.99% probably yes.

[TrumpIsPresident]

Ha that's cute.

Its like how Blizzard says they're "ready" for expansion launch day.

[Milchshake]

Sweden's former prime minister Goran Person once described Kaliningrad this way: “It is heavily polluted. There are illnesses there like AIDS and tuberculosis. There is atomic waste. You find almost every imaginable problem in Kaliningrad.”

Maybe Trump can sell a wall to Poland.

[Kellhound]

Ready for what? Ready for fear-mongering so they get easy money "help"? Country is 98% Polish, it basically has no mentionable minorities to speak of, it has no strategic value, heck North Stream was built just to avoid it as Poland as seen as untrustworthy n now North Stream 2 will be built.
"Putin is gonna get us cuz he's totally ewul! PLZ SEND AS MUCH CASH AS YOU CAN!"

At least Baltikum has a size-able Rus minority. Poland is...

Irrelevant.

It is the most relevant Western country in Eastern Europe as well as the most strategically placed.

[Deleted]

Im from warsaw.

It has nothing to do with fear or anything.

Our prime minister of defence is simply a retard.

He ordered to exhume victims of Smolensk plane crash for the 3rd or 4th time, because he has new conspiracy theory.

Our goverment is complete nuts.
They put country into massive debt.
Prohibited abortion and are planning to prohibit any form of protection as well.
Thdey are actively trying to fuck up constitution.

They probably want to force poland into military state to get rid of opposition and do whatever they want.

[Deleted]

Im from warsaw.

It has nothing to do with fear or anything.

Our prime minister of defence is simply a retard.

He ordered to exhume victims of Smolensk plane crash for the 3rd or 4th time, because he has new conspiracy theory.

Our goverment is complete nuts.
They put country into massive debt.
Prohibited abortion and are planning to prohibit any form of protection as well.
Thdey are actively trying to fuck up constitution.

They probably want to force poland into military state to get rid of opposition and do whatever they want.

Sounds like a nightmare to be honest. Are you very conservative in Poland or did they just get power because every other party was even worse ?

[caervek]

It is the most relevant Western country in Eastern Europe

I know this is an anti-Russia thread but I would say it's more relevant than Poland.

[Deleted]

Shouldn't the Polish militia take after the Bulgarian one n watch out for Merkel's rapefugee Legions instead of worrying about ww3?..Seems they got their priorities wrong.

[Deleted]

What can they do against a massive bombardment? Or a nuke?

[Radeghost]

Sounds like a nightmare to be honest. Are you very conservative in Poland or did they just get power because every other party was even worse ?

Both.
Poles are pretty conservative, but also very susceptible on populism. Now our national media look like North Korean ones, mentally challenged people still think that Russia killed our president in 2010. And yet... that party's still on top on polls.
Kinda sad for us.

[Mehrunes]

Im from warsaw.

It has nothing to do with fear or anything.

Our prime minister of defence is simply a retard.

He ordered to exhume victims of Smolensk plane crash for the 3rd or 4th time, because he has new conspiracy theory.

Don't insult retards.

[Mihalik]

I know this is an anti-Russia thread but I would say it's more relevant than Poland.

Politically speaking "Europe" stops at the Russian border. East of that is not Europe...it's Russia. Tho indeed geographically speaking Europe only stops at the Urals, so most Russians live in geographical Europe.

- - - Updated - - -

What can they do against a massive bombardment? Or a nuke?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United...plex_in_Poland

[Hengwulf]

dunno but it is a country in eastern europe so that means 99.99% probably yes.

It is very difficult to get a gun license in Poland. There is quite a big number of hunters, but personal firearms for self defence are really, really rare. Gun violence doesn't really exist in Poland.

- - - Updated - - -

He ordered to exhume victims of Smolensk plane crash for the 3rd or 4th time, because he has new conspiracy theory.

What? Why would you say something idiotic like that? Most of the victims were never exhumed and those are the ones they want to exhume. Does it make any sense after so much time is a different matter, but there is no need to lie about it.

[Crispin]

I know this is an anti-Russia thread but I would say it's more relevant than Poland.

Except Russia isnt part of the western world.

[Crispin]

Nothing eastern from Austria or Germany is.

The western world is not defined by geography but from a cultural, political and economic definition, ie. Australia is considered part of the western world.

[Hengwulf]

Nothing eastern from Austria or Germany is.

Depends on how do you define the western world. Poland decided to seek its cultural development on the West rather than elsewhere when it joined the roman catholic church. This doesn't define the western world anymore, however. What does then? We are what we always were - the outskirts of western world, and outskirts are always different from the cultural centre. But does it mean they don't belong to the community of values and ideas, even if sometimes they view them somewhat differently?

[Kellhound]

I know this is an anti-Russia thread but I would say it's more relevant than Poland.

Russia isnt really a Western country, and most of Russia is actually in Asia.

- - - Updated - - -

What can they do against a massive bombardment? Or a nuke?

Dial 1-800-USA-NATO.