Russia Recruits Students for Drone Operation — Karosta Offers Expert Consultations on Basement Tactics

Russia's Defense Ministry has launched an ambitious recruitment campaign to attract students to the art of drone operation. The promise is simple — if you can operate a drone, you won't be sent in as infantry. Such guarantees would be met with particular skepticism in Liepāja, because our Karosta has known for years that the best tactic is underground — not some drone operation from a safe distance.

Local military history expert and Karosta guide Jānis Krastiņš comments on the situation with understanding: "Look, if they think they'll solve everything with drones, then they haven't heard about Karosta's mythical basements. There were such tunnels and basements from the Tsarist era that modern technology would be like toys there. And most importantly — there's never internet signal there, so drones would be useless."

Experts point out that Russia's system, which provided accelerated training directly in combat zones, led to low personnel quality. Now they're trying to compensate by attracting students with promises of "safe drone operation." While such promises might sound convincing in Riga, in Liepāja we've long known that nothing is safer than a well-explored basement labyrinth.

The Liepāja Karosta Museum is even ready to offer consultations on real underground tactics, but only if someone asks with proper respect. "We have more than 100 years of experience here on how to hide and surprise the enemy," says Krastiņš. "But nobody talks about that — everyone just wants these modern solutions."