Defense League membership crosses 25,000 mark
Membership of the Estonian volunteer defense organization Kaitseliit (Defense League) and affiliated organizations grew fast and crossed the 25,000 mark last year.
The growth of the organization in 2015 was the biggest in the last decade, spokespeople for Defense League said. Membership of the volunteer corps increased by 1,389 during the year and as of December 31 the organization had 25,001 members in all.
Members of Kaitseliit numbered 15,896 at the end of last year. The women's arm Naiskodukaitse had 2,339 members and the boys' and girls' organizations, Noored Kotkad and Kodutütred, had 3,190 and 3,576 members respectively.
Kaitseliit gained 823 members and Naiskodukaitse 168 members during the year. The membership of the youth organizations which rather declined in previous years also turned to growth in 2015, with 259 new members joining Noored Kotkad and 139, Kodutütred.