The scenes being published and described by merchants expelled from the commercial hall bring to mind images once seen by all of Poland. At that time, the country closely followed the fate of the vendors driven out of the market hall beneath the Palace of Culture in Warsaw. The current situation, echoing the lawlessness of the late 1990s, is made even more unsettling by the sight of groups of Chechens armed with metal batons, “guarding” the building. According to the affected vendors, the city authorities are doing nothing about the situation, while Warsaw’s mayor, Rafał Trzaskowski, is preoccupied with his election campaign.
“The hall clearer at Modlińska 6D hired thugs to carry out an illegal eviction and gas the people working there. The pretext was a decision from the Building Supervision Office, which merely ordered a change in the hall’s usage, but in no way justified an eviction. What’s more, the vendors possess a court order protecting their tenancy of the rented premises. Yet the hall clearer disregards court rulings, and the police are siding with the thugs rather than the tenants. One might say, just another day in ‘smiling Poland,’”
said Zenobia Żaczek of the Committee for the Defense of Tenants’ Rights.
Disturbing scenes have been unfolding for several weeks now at the shopping center located at 6D Modlińska Street in Warsaw. Many of the merchants relocated there after the massive market hall at Marywilska 44 burned down. The scenes, as captured in videos, resemble those from the late 1990s. Ironically, some of the same individuals are involved—vendors once stationed under the Palace of Culture.
The distinctive white market hall of Kupieckie Domy Towarowe stood in a central location in the capital, and the events that unfolded there were broadcast to the entire nation via national media.
From Fire to Fire
Fate has not been kind to these merchants. After the devastating fire that consumed all their belongings, they moved to an empty Expo hall on Modlińska Street. Even in this new location, they faced great difficulty. They had to create their commercial spaces from scratch.
“Every element—from the steel structures to the light fixtures and even the bathroom cloths—we financed entirely on our own,”
the merchants explained.
At the end of 2024, it emerged that the management of the hall had changed. The company Mirtan began demanding increasingly higher fees—rent and electricity costs surged. When tenants requested meter readings or other documentation justifying the price hikes, a chain appeared across the entrance gate, and Chechens began guarding the premises.
After police intervention, the merchants were allowed back in, but customers were hesitant to visit due to the hall’s unusual “security.” In February of this year, the administrator escalated the situation further by cutting off the power supply. Resourceful vendors bought a generator to continue operating. Mediation efforts during this period proved fruitless.
In March, a fire broke out in a remote section of the vast center, far from the vendors’ stalls. The circumstances surrounding the blaze remain under investigation.
Scenes of Chaos
The next major upheaval occurred just after the May holiday weekend. Vendors were camping on-site to protect their belongings when, around 6 a.m., the administrator deployed a private “security service” on the premises.
“The merchants (…) were brutally removed from the premises by a private, aggressive ‘security service’ hired by the Administrator. Our own security guards were forcibly escorted out—one of them was severely beaten,”
the merchants reported on Facebook.
The hall was then barricaded—entrances were blocked with chipboards and covered with sand to prevent entry.
Further reports detail attacks by these “security guards” in the presence of police officers. The officers remained passive during these incidents and did not respond to clear requests for intervention.
“When the gate was opened, merchants tried to enter to check on their property. This was met with a harsh and disproportionate reaction from the administrator’s personnel, who began spraying pepper spray at the vendors. Physical scuffles ensued as the merchants attempted to dismantle the barricades and enter the premises out of concern for their belongings and safety,”
the vendors reported.
They add that groups of Chechens hired by the management company are patrolling the hall. These men are armed with metal batons and chains.
The situation at Modlińska is rapidly evolving. More media outlets and activists, such as Piotr Ikonowicz, have arrived on the scene. Simultaneously, the company Mirtan is distributing letters to the media detailing the estimated material losses it has allegedly incurred.
The vendors continue to appeal for help from the city, but claim their pleas are met with silence. Following the second fire, rumors emerged that developers have shown interest in the property.
Intriguing Connections
The owner of the company Mirtan is Andrzej Żbikowski. His business partner in the firm is Agnieszka Kusak, who co-runs another company with her husband, Paweł Kusak, where he held the position of proxy.
Paweł Kusak has a noteworthy background. Until 2010, he was a fervent activist with the far-right All-Polish Youth in Kraków. As the head of its regional structures in the capital of Małopolska, he protested against pride marches and what he described as the “aggressive homosexual propaganda” of the LGBT community.
A few years later, his name began appearing in legal matters in Warsaw, where he worked as an attorney. In early 2024, his restructuring advisor license became useful to the new authorities, and he emerged as one of the trusted associates of Colonel Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz. Kusak was appointed liquidator of 17 regional branches of Polish Radio.