Abja-Paluoja is a quiet town with 1,000 inhabitants in the south of Estonia. But that tranquility was recently disrupted by an evacuation exercise involving more than 200 women, children and elderly people. 

That preparation was part of a fictional scenario in which Estonia would evacuate its civilian population from the southern regions due to intelligence reports of a possible attack by a foreign country with local authorities having 10 days to prepare.

The Estonian Rescue Board, the country's leading agency for civil protection, and the Estonian Defense League (EDL), a voluntary national defense organization, were preparing for what was the largest drill of this kind so far. 

It's not hard to guess why Estonia has increased the number of drills.

"It is not a secret, where we are living. We are not alone in the Baltic region," says Lieutenant-Colonel Raul Kütt, commander of the southern division of Estonia's Defense League. "The same applies to Latvia and Lithuania. And we don't know what the outcome of the Ukrainian conflict will be. Can it spread? In order to be ready for the worst-case scenario, we still have time to exercise these kind of activities."

Many in Estonia are afraid of their eastern neighbor Russia. A recent survey commissioned by the Estonian Defense Ministry shows that nearly 40% of the population consider a large-scale military attack on Estonia likely — 10% more than last year. 

However, the same survey suggests that 60% of citizens are prepared to defend their country. With only about 6,500 professional military personal out of a population of 1.3 million, Estonia relies heavily on its reservists and volunteers, like the ones from the Estonian Defense League.

Kindergarten teacher turned Defense League volunteer

Liis Pariis is one of them. The 43-year-old kindergarten teacher is supervising the reception and accommodation of evacuated civilians in Abja-Paluoja's sports and health center. Liis joined the women's organization of the Estonian Defense League, Naiskodukaitse, two years ago. 

She says seeing pictures from Ukraine made her wonder that if worst comes to worst what would she do for her own safety, for her family and for her country. "I have a three-year-old daughter at home, and children make you think these kinds of things: How can I be there for them?”

Several men in her family were already members of EDL, so she decided to join as well. After receiving basic military, medical and civil safety training, Liis joined the evacuation team.

Spike in interest to join Defense League after Russia invaded Ukraine

Currently, the EDL has more than 30,000 members. The EDL's commander, Major-General Ilmar Tamm, says around 5,000 volunteers joined after the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. "I didn't have to convince them; I just had to find a proper role and provide enough training opportunities," he says.

EDL volunteers — workers, teachers, doctors — sacrifice their weekends for the training, so the preparation takes time, explains Tamm. "As long as Russia is occupied in Ukraine, we still have this time," adding that "Estonia will always be ready to defend itself, but there is always room for improvement and that is what the Estonian Defense League can provide for its citizens." 

Estonia spends 3.4% of its GDP on defense, well above NATO's 2% target and the second highest after Poland in the alliance. 

EDL volunteers training the evacuees

Back at the evacuation center, Liis and her colleagues finish checking in and providing necessities for the evacuees. Sleeping bags and mattresses have been rolled out in the huge basketball hall on the second floor of the sports center where they will spend the night.

"We knew there would be a lot of people coming. [There was a] lot of waiting and we didn't know what would happen. But I am happy to say that until now we haven't faced big problems, everything went smoothly," says Liis.

Apart from dealing with logistical tasks, the EDL volunteers are trained to provide psychological and medical help in situations like this one. And they gladly share their knowledge. Together with the Estonian Red Cross they organize first aid workshops attended by women and children who have been evacuated for this exercise.

"On the one hand it is scary, because it could be a real situation," says Helena, a manager from Tartu, a city in eastern Estonia. "But right now it is interesting because we are getting so much knowledge about first aid." 

Learning from the Ukrainian situation

The head of disaster management at Estonia's Red Cross, Kirill Badikin, stresses the importance of these activities: "Ukrainians say that if the population would have known how to use first aid skills, it would have saved many more lives." 

Next door, colleagues from the Estonian Rescue Board provide other training. They teach people how to start a fire, produce electricity and pack their evacuation bags, and where to find shelter in case of an emergency. 

They too are learning from the Ukrainian example. Just last month, a delegation from the Estonian Rescue Board visited Ukraine. "The most important thing is for people to know what to do," says Arvi Uustalu, head of the Prevention Bureau at the Estonian Rescue Board.

And these skills are useful not only in times of war.

Liis Pariis says that since she joined the EDL, she feels much safer, even in her daily life. She hopes she will never have to organize a real evacuation — be it because of war or a natural disaster. But if it comes to that, she is prepared. 

Edited by: Rob Mudge