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Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad () is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea. The territory borders on NATO and EU members Poland and Lithuania, and is geographically separated from the rest of Russia. What remained of the largely destroyed Prussian and German town of Königsberg, which had been founded in 1256, was occupied by the Soviet Army in 1945 and renamed Kaliningrad in 1946. In the meantime, the name was briefly Russified as Kyonigsberg (). At the 2002 Census, its population was 430,003, an increase from the 401,280 recorded in the 1989 Census. Its ethnic composition is 77.9% Russians, 8.0% Belarusians, 7.3% Ukrainians and 1.9% Lithuanians.[1]
HistoryAs KönigsbergThe castle of Königsberg was founded in 1256 by the Teutonic Knights as a tribute to King Ottokar II of Bohemia, who had led a campaign against pagan Sambians. The town became a member of the Hanseatic League, then in 1457 headquarters of the Teutonic Order, and in 1525 a seat of the secular Duchy of Prussia, which was a Polish fiefdom until 1618. Königsberg became a centre of education when the Albertina University was founded by Duke Albert of Prussia in 1544. By the act of coronation in Königsberg in 1701, Prince-elector Frederick III of Brandenburg became Frederick I, King in Prussia. After World War I, the creation of the Polish Corridor cut off East Prussia and Königsberg from the rest of mainland Weimar Germany. 
What remained of Königsberg City Centre in 1949 Soviet Union
Map of Kaliningrad Oblast in the historical Northeastern Prussia 
The "House of the Soviets", built on the former site of Königsberg Castle. 
The 2006 finished Russian Orthodox Cathedral of Christ the Saviour
Koenigsberg was renamed Kaliningrad in 1946 after the death of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Mikhail Kalinin, one of the original Bolsheviks. The German population was expelled and the city was repopulated with Russian citizens. Life changed dramatically: the city had a new name (Kaliningrad), and German was replaced by Russian as the language of everyday life. The city was rebuilt, and went through industrialisation and modernisation. As one of the westernmost territories of the USSR, the Kaliningrad Oblast became a strategically important area during the Cold War. The Soviet Baltic Fleet was headquartered in the city in the 1950s. Because of its strategic importance, Kaliningrad was closed to foreign visitors. In 1957 an agreement was signed and later came into force which delimited the boundary between Poland and the Soviet Union. (Full text: http://www.un.org/Depts/los/LEGISLATIONANDTREATIES/PDFFILES/TREATIES/RUS-POL1957SF.PDF, for other issues of the frontier delimitation see http://www.un.org/Depts/los/LEGISLATIONANDTREATIES/STATEFILES/POL.htm) Russian Federation
View of the Kaliningrad city hall from the Victory Square. The city hall is draped in a large banner celebrating the 61st anniversary of the end of the Great Patriotic War. Due to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Kaliningrad Oblast became an exclave, geographically separated from the rest of Russia. This isolation from the rest of Russia became even more pronounced politically when Poland and Lithuania became members of NATO and subsequently the European Union in 2004. All military and civilian land links between the region and the rest of Russia have to pass through members of NATO and the EU. Special travel arrangements for the territory's inhabitants have been made. Today, there is some debate about changing the name of the city back to "Königsberg" in the same way that several other Russian cities have reverted to their pre-Soviet names, e.g. St. Petersburg and Tver, which were known in the Soviet era as Leningrad and Kalinin, respectively. "Kyonig" (a shortened Russian form of "Königsberg") is often used in advertisements for tourism companies in the region. Another possibility would be to give it a Russian name similar to other historic Slavic names, such as "Korolevsk". In July 2007, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov declared that if US-controlled missile defense systems were deployed in Poland, then nuclear weapons might be deployed in Kaliningrad. GeographyKaliningrad is located at the mouth of the navigable Pregolya River, which empties into the Vistula Lagoon, an inlet of the Baltic Sea. Sea vessels can access Gda?sk Bay and the Baltic Sea by way of the Vistula Lagoon and the Strait of Baltiysk. Until circa 1900 ships drawing more than of water could not pass the bar and come into town, so that larger vessels had to anchor at Pillau (now Baltiysk), where merchandise was moved onto smaller vessels. In 1901 a ship canal between Königsberg and Pillau was completed at a cost of 13 million marks, which enabled vessels of a draught to moor alongside the town. (See also Ports of the Baltic Sea.) Khrabrovo Airport is located north of Kaliningrad, and has a few scheduled/charter services to several destinations throughout Europe. There is the smaller Kaliningrad Devau Airport for general aviation. Kaliningrad is also home to Kaliningrad Chkalovsk naval air base. Sightseeing
Brandenburg Gate, Kaliningrad 
Statue of Lenin in Kaliningrad
EconomyIn 1996 Kaliningrad was designated a Special Economic Zone. Manufacturers based there get tax and customs duty breaks on the goods they send back to Russia. Although corruption was an early deterrent, that policy means the region is now a manufacturing hub. One in three televisions in Russia is made in Kaliningrad, and it is home to Hummer and BMW car plants. Now Kaliningrad's major industries are manufacturing, shipping, fishing and amber products. Moscow has declared it will turn the region into "the Russian Hong Kong". [2] The European Commission provides funds for business projects under its special programme for Kaliningrad. The region has begun to see increasing trade with the countries of the EU as well as increasing economic growth and rising industrial output. With an average GDP growth of more than 10% per year for three years to 2007, Kaliningrad is growing faster than any other region in Russia, even outstripping the success of its EU neighbours.[3] MilitaryKaliningrad Oblast is the most heavily militarized area of the Russian Federation, and the density of military infrastructure is the highest in Europe. It was the headquarters of the former Soviet Baltic Military District. Kaliningrad also functions as the headquarters of the Russian Baltic Fleet, circled by Chernyakhovsk (air base), Donskoye (air base) and Kaliningrad Chkalovsk (naval air base). Since 1991 the Russians have transferred numerous tactical nuclear warheads to the enclave (exclave).[4] SportsKaliningrad is home to the football club FC Baltika Kaliningrad, which plays in the Russian First Division. Notable residents
Sister citiesKaliningrad is twinned with:
See alsoReferences
External links
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