Kaliningrad Oblast

The unlawful annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation has again revealed the weakness of international law and the lack of a practical mechanisms that could have deterred such a violation. The course of events in Ukraine sparkled by an artificial “Russian Spring” has initiated a resurgence of discussion once in vogue, and later abandoned, questions pertaining to the so-called border regions of the Russian Federation and their status under current circumstances.

Восточная Пруссия глазами советских переселенцев. Первые годы Калининградской области в воспоминаниях и документах / ред. Ю.В. Костяшов. — 3-е изд., доп. и испр. — Калининград : Изд-во «Калининградская книга», 2018. — 364 с. — ISBN 978-5-6040160-7-7

Авторский коллектив: Д.и.н. Ю.В. Костяшов (введение, главы 11, 12, заключение), С.П. Гальцова (глава 6), А.Н. Гедима (глава 3), к.и.н. М.А. Клемешева (глава 4), Ю.И. Матюши-
на, А.Н. Попадин, К.В. Резуев (главы 1, 2), Л.Н. Ткачик (глава 10), А.А. Цапенко
(глава 9), А.Д. Чумаков (глава 7), д.и.н. А.А. Ярцев (главы 5, 8).

Рецензенты: Л.П. Репина, доктор исторических наук, профессор, член-корреспондент
РАН, заведующая Отделом историко-теориетических исследований, главный
научный сотрудник Института всеобщей истории РАН.
Ю.В. Кривошеев, доктор исторических наук, профессор, заведующий кафедрой исторического регионоведения СПбГУ, председатель редакционной коллегии серии «Русская библиотека» издательства «Наука».

В основе книги — воспоминания первых переселенцев, прибывших из разных уголков Советского Союза на земли бывшей Восточной Пруссии вскоре после окончания Второй мировой войны. Их рассказы дополняют документы того времени. Читатель имеет возможность познакомиться с различными этапами заселения Kалининградской области: вербовкой, переездом, устройством на работу, поиском жилья, бытом первых переселенцев и т. д. В книге также рассказывается о жизни немцев, оставшихся в новой российской области после войны, об их взаимоотношениях с советскими людьми, о депортации немецкого населения в Германию.

From the geopolitical point of view, the Kaliningrad Oblast, due to its exclave location, has become an area of strategic importance. Its strategic nature has been steadily increasing with the successive enlargements of the European Union and NATO. The geographical location and the army stationed in the area allow Moscow to control the situation in the Baltic Sea basin. This makes it possible, through the Euro-Atlantic location of most countries in the region, to influence European policies. In this way, Russia is playing a leading role in this part of the continent. From the point of view of the countries within the region, it is a global military power and a regional superpower. In this context, Kaliningrad exclave increasingly more frequently serves as a security policy tool. It is part of the ongoing threat to the Baltic States and Poland. Demilitarisation of the region, which is periodically demanded by neighbouring countries, is impossible for several reasons. The armed forces stationed there are a counterbalance to the expanding North Atlantic Treaty Organisation from Russia's point of view. They serve to protect national interests and secure the affairs of the Russian and Russian-speaking diasporas in the immediate vicinity. They protect the Russian economic zone and access to the resources of the Baltic Sea. Moreover, the military potential located in the Kaliningrad Oblast, since the collapse of the Soviet Union, has been a guarantee of continuity of Potsdam's border solutions.

Knygoje pateikta lietuvinikų politinių nuostatų raidos glausta analizė XVIII - XX amžių dokumentuose bei to laikotarpio žemėlapiuose, vaizduojančiuose Mažąją Lietuvą. Vertinama žemėlapių įvairovė, ypatumai ir valstybių vykdytos politikos atspindys juose. XVIII - XX amžiai pasirinkti todėl, nes tame laikotarpyje galutinai susiformavo lietuvininkų politinės nuostatos, dėl kurių įgyvendinimo jie dar tebekovoja.
Kadangi Mažąją Lietuvą valdė vokiečiai, tai lietuvininkų politinės nuostatos buvo jų vienokiu ar kitokiu būdu veikiamos ir įtakojamos. Neįmanoma atsekti ir suvokti lietuvininkų politinių nuostatų raidos negretinant jos su Prūsija, Vokietijos ir kitų didžiųjų Europos imperijų ir valstybių vykdyta politika. Todėl darbe pateikiama ir tų valstybių vykdytos politikos glausta apžvalga.

ISBN 978-9955-759-66-9

This thesis, presented here, establishes a precedent between the works of these characteristics wroten in the Department of Modern and Contemporary History. First, because it is a work of very novel thematic, not only in our academy, but on an international scale. It is the first systematic and specialized history of the so-called Oblast or Kaliningrad region, the former East Prussia, occupied by the Soviet troops in the final moments of the Second World War, and later converted into a Russian region. Moreover, during the years of the Cold War, Kaliningrad was restricted access after being transformed into a strategic enclave of great value, which harbored powerful nuclear weapons systems. On the other hand, inside the oblast, the history of the relations between the remains of the German population and the new Russian settlers was unknown. And, finally, the analysis of the new situation of the enclave after the end of the cold war is also a very outstanding contribution, since Kaliningrad was separated from the rest of the Russian territory, surrounded by countries belonging to the EU and with a legal status - completely irregular diplomat. The work has original sources that are particularly difficult to obtain and interpret, in the original Russian language. The author offers almost forty pages of sources and references, mostly in Russian. There is a certain amount of official, governmental and institutional publications and a good amount of specialized articles. Finally, the work has been written in English, which facilitates its dissemination and can thus take advantage on all of its innovative impact. During recent years, its author, Sergey Sukhankin, published several articles and works in international forums, especially in the United States - lately also in Russia - that have given the measure of the excellent reception that the work has had.

Über einen Anschluss des Königsberger Gebietes in den Nachkriegsjahren des Zweiten Weltkriegs an Litauen schwirren schon lange Gerüchte herum. Die Einen fluchen auf Litauens Kommunisten, die angeblich einen Anschluss großer Teile Ostpreußens an Litauen ablehnten, denn so hätte heute Litauen eine bedeutende Industrieregion, einen zusätzlichen eisfreien Hafen an der Ostsee und auch der Nachlass Preußisch-Litauens würde sich ernsthafter einordnen lassen. Andere verweisen in so einem Fall auf völkische Probleme Litauens nach dem Erhalt der Unabhängigkeit: vergleichbar mit dem Dnjestr-Gebiet, Abchasien oder bestenfalls der Halbinsel Krim. Skeptiker äußern sich negativ über die Kaliningrader Ökonomie und das Landschaftsbild des von Truppenübungsplätzen verwüsteten Gebietes.

ENG
Knives-daggers represent one of the most spectacular and highly specialised Migration Period weapon forms
in the south-eastern region of the Baltic Sea Basin : in the territory of modern West Lithuania and in the Kaliningrad
region of Russia (former territory of the Sambian-Natangian culture). Current research project results
show that the old hypotheses about knives-daggers and shoulder straps (baltei Vidgiriai), which until now
were believed to form a functional complex, as well as about the former owners of these artefacts should be
drastically revised (at least in case of the former Sambian-Natangian culture area). It has become possible to
develop a classifi cation of knives-daggers with several major types and their variants; it has been also shown,
that baltei Vidgiriai were used already at the end of the Late Roman Period and thus appear to be older than
the “classical” knives-daggers. Traditional views of the graves with knives-daggers, as per defi nitionem rich
burials of professional warriors with a high social status, found no evidence in the examined archaeological
material. The results testify that knives-daggers were a common weapon of free members of the communities
of the Sambian-Natangian culture.

RU
Ножи-кинжалы – одна из наиболее необычных и узкоспециализированных форм вооружения эпохи
Великого переселения народов в юго-восточной части бассейна Балтийского моря: на территории
современной Западной Литвы и Калининградской обл. РФ (ареал самбийско-натангийской
культуры). Результаты настоящего исследования указывают на то, что получившие в литературе
последних лет распространение гипотезы в отношении ножей-кинжалов и перевязей (baltei Vidgiriai),
предположительно формировавших в древности функциональный комплекс, а также в отношении владельцев этих
артефактов, должны быть кардинально пересмотрены, по крайней мере, для ареала рассматриваемой
культуры. В рамках проекта удалось выделить несколько основных типов ножей-кинжалов и их
варианты; одновременно было показано, что baltei Vidgiriai использовали уже в конце поздней
фазы эпохи Римского влияния и тем самым ранее появления “классических” ножей-кинжалов.
Сложившиеся представления о комплексах с ножами-кинжалами как о per definitionem богатых
погребениях профессиональных воинов аллохтонного этнокультурного происхождения с высоким
социальным статусом не нашли подтверждения в изученном археологическом материале. Результаты
свидетельствуют о том, что ножи-кинжалы были распространенным оружием свободных членов
общин самбийско-натангийской культуры.

Moscow's policy towards the Kaliningrad Oblast has been increasingly consistent in recent years. Its main objective has been to further tighten its grip on the region and its links to mainland Russia in the political, social and economic dimension. As a result, the Kaliningrad Oblast has been made more subordinated to Moscow, which is in line with a general trend in the relations between Russia's central government and the regions.

The purpose of the present paper is to analyse the most important changes that have taken place in the Kaliningrad Oblast since 2016. Part One analyses the dynamics of the political and social situation with special focus on: changes in the relations between the federal centre and the oblast; the situation within the power elite; and the development of civil society activities. Part Two is devoted to analysing the economic situation and looks in particular into social and economic indicators and the evolution of Moscow's policy towards the region, including its transport and energy projects. Part Three delves into the oblast's relations with the external world, including its cross-border contacts and co-operations, the movement of people and economic exchange. Finally, Part Four is devoted to the evolution of the internal security situation and policy, and the expansion of Russia's military potential in the region.

Рассмотрен процесс формирования и конкуренции
разных дискурсов о довоенном прошлом нового советского
края, ставшего в 1946 г. Калининградской областью. Показано, как почти тотальное господство официального дискурса, отличающегося табуированием и искажением региональной истории, было поколеблено альтернативным дискурсом, который проявился в публичном пространстве во второй половине 1960-х гг., затем развивался в различных сообществах вплоть
до победы над официозом в годы Перестройки.

The paper characterises the several-decades-long process of rehabilitation of the prewar cultural heritage in the Kaliningrad. After the northern part of the former East Prussia (Königsberg, and since 1946, the Kaliningrad Oblast) had been annexed by the USSr, and after basically a total change of the population had taken place, the authorities started to sovietise the region. Knowledge of the prewar past was prohibited from the very beginning, and Stalin-era propaganda formed the founding myth of the Kaliningrad region with reference to the notion of 'a Slavic land from time immemorial'. Despite the significant shifts that took place in the process of research into the history of the Kaliningrad Oblast during the Soviet period, carried out by historians from russia and other countries, the adaptation by the postwar settlers to the socio-cultural landscape remains a poorly researched theme. The paper argues that the rehabilitation of the prewar (and primarily German) cultural heritage took place all through the Soviet era, by gradually converting the initially alien environment into their own. Ultimately, a fundamental shift took place in the cultural memory of Kaliningrad's inhabitants; from the fear of staying 'in an empty land', they moved to the compatibility of 'memory and desire': the understanding that the metaphor of 'paradise lost', which revealed the nostalgia of the former inhabitants of East Prussia, also defined the feelings of Kaliningrad residents for the land that had become their home.

Nowhere else but in Königsberg everything went "upside down" in 1945. Prussia once again changed its owner, its language, and its ... population. It became important to the Soviet science  to show its superiority over the German archeologists, drawing special attention to the excavations of hillforts and settlements. In 1946 the first Soviet archaeologist Frida Gurevich leaves Leningrad for Kaliningrad on a "spying" trip: "The only thing I saw arriving at the building of the  Museum of Archaeology, was a heap of ruins ...".

This article sets out to analyse the Polish-Russian agreement on small border traffic in the context of relations between the European Union and the Russian Federation. The analysis focuses on the role of the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation in relations between the EU and Russia and conditions of the Polish-Russian agreement on small border traffic. The methodology employed is based on analysing primary (documents) and secondary (scholarly publications, press articles) sources. The article also addresses the “Kaliningrad question” — one of the most important issues in Russia-EU relations. The analysis shows that the signing of the Polish-Russian agreement on small border traffic should be viewed as a success. Based on the agreement, the inhabitants of borderlands in Poland and Russia (the Kaliningrad region) can cross the border without obtaining an entry visa. For the inhabitants of the borderlands, the agreement brings a range of significant advantages relating to the intensification of social, cultural, touristic, and economic contacts. It is worth noting that the agreement is one of very few examples of EU-Russia cooperation, especially in context of deterioration thereof observed over the last several years.

By virtue of history and geographical position Kaliningrad Oblast occupies very specifi c place on geopolitical map of Europe. Historical experience suggests that in many respects this tiny “Russian Island” engrained into the heart of Europe could be compared to some sort of a litmus test that indicates the real state of relations between Russia and the West. On the other hand, due to certain historical regularities and predispositions that seem to be enshrined into the very local soil, do prove crucial (and frequently debated) point whether history does repeat itself and what should be the circumstances under which such scenario could materialize. Since Kaliningrad has not enjoyed signifi cant attention from the side of international academic scholarship (aside perhaps from very few occasions), I deem it instrumental to provide it with greater extent of analysis. Especially relevant does this appear nowadays when relations between the Russian Federation and the West have hit the rocks and Kaliningrad has again appeared in the limelight of international politics.

This article sets out to analyse the Polish-Russian agreement on small border traffic in the context of relations between the European Union and the Russian Federation. The analysis focuses on the role of the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation in relations between the EU and Russia and conditions of the Polish-Rus-sian agreement on small border traffic. The methodology employed is based on analysing primary (documents) and secondary (scholarly publications, press articles) sources. The article also addresses the " Kaliningrad question " — one of the most important issues in Russia-EU relations. The analysis shows that the signing of the Polish-Russian agreement on small border traffic should be viewed as a success. Based on the agreement, the inhabitants of borderlands in Poland and Russia (the Ka-liningrad region) can cross the border without obtaining an entry visa. For the inhabitants of the borderlands, the agreement brings a range of significant advantages relating to the intensification of social, cultural , touristic, and economic contacts. It is worth noting that the agreement is one of very few examples of EU — Russia cooperation , especially in context of deterioration thereof observed over the last several years.

The Kaliningrad oblast’ of the Russian Federation is unique area in East-Central Europe from the point of view of development of cooperation between the European Union and the Russian Federation as well as geopolitical conditions of security in the Baltic Sea Region. Due to this reason the Kaliningrad oblast’ is crucial area for security of the Baltic Sea Region, as in this subject of the Russian Federation are intersecting two key processes for European security: on the one hand, this is process of European integration, which is continued on the east part of Europe and the Kaliningrad oblast’ – due to its geographical location – is taking part in several nets of European cooperation. On the other hand, the Kaliningrad oblast’ is subject of the Russian Federation, which is carrying out great project of reintegration of post-soviet space and the oblast’ is one of key elements of success of this project. The Kaliningrad oblast’ might play role of particular tool of Russian authorities to threaten states of Baltic Sea Region, as they do in relation to other exclaves and separatist regions in post-soviet space. The thesis of the lecture is assertion, that significance of the Kaliningrad oblast’ for security of the Baltic Sea Region will rise with increasing of process of integration in post-soviet space. The indicator of this factor is significance of the Kaliningrad oblast’ in system of national security of the Russian Federation as well as its geographical location, especially in the context of relations with the Baltic states. An important factor in this process are also goals of Russian foreign policy with reference to the Baltic states as well as the Nordic states.

The end of the Second World War brought a new legal, political and spatial order to the territory of former East Prussia. The political, demographic and economic area was divided between Poland and the Soviet Union as a result of the decision made between the world powers. Both sides of the border carried out separate policies to respect the German heritage of these lands and changes made to the names of towns and geographic sites. These two approaches affected and continue to influence the current identity and historical consciousness of the inhabitants of the Warmia and Mazury Region and Kaliningrad Region of the Russian Federation. The aim of the article is to establish a comparison of this kind of historical policies related to the German heritage of these lands, and the processes of evolution of the identity and historical awareness of both communities, as well as to study the processes of the evolution of identity and historical awareness in the Warmia and Mazury and Kaliningrad Regions. The following selected issues related to identity and historical consciousness are analysed: history of the former German sacral and defensive architecture, museum collections and monuments; the state of preservation of prewar names of rural, urban and geographical areas; the currently observed frequency of recourse to German resentments in the society, culture and economy. One of the currently observed processes around the Polish-Russian border are the transitions of identity and awareness resulting from the cross-border cooperation of local communities.

The aim of the research was to determine the conditions of international security in Central and Eastern Europe resulting from the functioning of the Kaliningrad region as an important factor of international relations in this part of Europe. Attempts were made to define the position of the Kaliningrad region in the security system of Russia and Russian strategic thought, as well as the region’s role in shaping international relations in Central and Eastern Europe. The aim of the research was also to investigate the security conditions of Central and Eastern Europe from the point of view of the main research paradigms of the theory of international relations. It was assumed that the processes shaping European security and the role of the Kaliningrad region in the development of these processes can be interpreted from the point of view of the main theoretical approaches in international relations: realism, liberalism, globalism, the geopolitical paradigm and constructivism. It was assumed that a critical analysis of realism should be carried out as a trend that was adopted to be applied in the analysis of Russia’s foreign and security policy, while taking into account the explanatory potential of the geopolitical paradigm and constructivism.

What may the moment of territorial repossession and resettlement reveal to us about the practice of modern statehood? This paper discusses several key aspects of the Soviet occupation and incorporation of East Prussia in 1945–49: its juridical and administrative configuration into a zone of exception through militarized ‘closing’, the unequal invocation of citizenship rights and duties of Soviet settlers and the creation of legal and political limbo around German civilians, and the categorical production of social distinctions that separated the Soviet ‘us’ from the German ‘them’, together with a simultaneous articulation of a new, obscured identity—the spy. It demonstrates the thoroughly spatialized politics of settlement refracted through everyday experiences of travel, settlement, and cultural encounter. It argues on the basis of these findings that unintelligibility and ambiguity play a more complex role in statecraft than is often recognized.

“At the Press Conference of Dr. Heinrich Groth on the Occasion of Resigning from His Leadership Position (Moscow, Russia, December 20, 1993).”

Translated and edited by Eric J. Schmaltz.

The original German source:  “Zur Pressekonferenz von Dr. Heinrich Groth anlässlich der Niederlegung seiner Vollmachten,” St. Petersburgische Zeitung (Russia), No. 1 (Feb. 1994):  pp. 1-3.

https://library.ndsu.edu/grhc/research/scholarly/non_peer/press.html

A translation of this document with revised and expanded commentary was later published as:  “At the Press Conference of Dr. Heinrich Groth on the Occasion of Resigning from His Leadership Position (Moscow, Russia, December 20, 1993).”  Trans. and ed. Eric J. Schmaltz.  Journal of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia 37:3 (Fall 2014):  pp. 27-30.

Also, one point of clarification or correction in the AHSGR article:  Dr. Heinrich Groth was born to exiled Volga German parents in Soviet Central Asia in 1951, but later his family moved to the Volga Region and eventually settled in Berdyansk, Ukraine, along the Sea of Azov.  Groth spent his later youth and most of his adulthood in Berdyansk, becoming a professional biologist and ultimately an ethnic activist. 

Many scholars are unaware of the resources available at the AHSGR.  See link to AHSGR Website for this and so many other fine research materials: 

https://ahsgr.site-ym.com/store/default.aspx?

На основе осмысления опыта изучения истории малых городов Калининградской области и с учётом характера развития урбанистической истории даётся оценка перспектив исследования прошлого малых городов Калининградской области (северной части бывшей Восточной Пруссии).

The issue of migration of fishermen from the Curonian Lagoon has not been a subject of detailed research. The purpose of this paper is to present mechanisms behind migration of fishermen from the Curonian Spit based on methodology of historical demography.
The source base for this subject is based on tax censuses from the period 1539–1569 A.D., which present the names, surnames or nicknames of fishermen, who inhabited the region of the Curonian Lagoon and sometimes possessed livestock, which was the basis to evaluate the size of the tax by the administration of Duchy of Prussia and the bishop of Samland.
Based on those information a historian can estimate the size of the population living in the Curonian Spit, as well as the size of families of fishermen, provide information about directions of migration of fishermen. Written sources provide also information about the phenomen of rotation (replaceability) of populations inhabiting fishery settlements during the span of one or two generations (30 years), which was not presented in scientific literature.
The results differ significantly from the picture outlined by 19–20th cent. German historians and show, that in the case of demographic research it is extremely important to take into account the specific context, namely pallets of objective and anthropogenic factors.

«Пруссия» в Калининграде. Когда лопочут пушки и опускается железный занавес - музы замолкают. И в этом смысле, история музея «Пруссия» может быть для нас поучительна.
"Prussia" in Kaliningrad. While the cannons roar, the Muses stay silent. In terms of this "proverb" the history of the museum "Prussia" can be somewhat  enlightening for us.