East Prussiayears belong to Russia, the crime rate is high
Located on the coast of the Baltic Sea, Kaliningrad Oblast is the westernmost province of Russia, bordering Poland and Lithuania, with a total area of 15,100 square kilometers.
As the homeland of Germany, it has a rich history, and was once known as East Prussia and is considered the birthplace of Germany. After the end of World War II, it was acquired by the Soviet Union and renamed Kaliningrad.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the state belonged to Russia. Since 1945, Kaliningrad has been part of Russia for 77 years, and its development history and changes have always attracted the attention of the world.
Before the 19th century, the history of Europe was full of battles. From East Prussia to Kaliningrad, Germans, Slavs, Turks, and various small peoples established hundreds of states, conquering and devouring each other.
Every country has been led for a short time on the stage of history, and each has been led for decades. On the southern shore of the Baltic Sea, in the lands adjacent to present-day Poland and Lithuania, ancient Prussians once lived on this land.
In ancient times, the indigenous people continued their cultural traditions here for countless centuries. However, in south-central Europe, the Holy Roman Empire and the Pope were in joint control, and their main goal was to launch an expedition to the Middle East.
Because of the supremacy of Catholicism in Europe, the Pope mobilized secular forces and organized several crusades. During these periods, the Holy See, the Hospital, and the Teutonic Knights, under the orders of the Holy See, were established one after another.
The Teutonic Order was founded at a later date, and its full name was the Knights of the Brethren of Germany in Jerusalem, and the members of the order were all Germans. They took part in the Fourth and Fifth Crusades, the main goal of which was to occupy Egypt, but the results were not satisfactory.
At the Battle of Mansoura, Egypt in 1221, the Knights Templar and the Teutonic Knights suffered a heavy blow. As a result, the three major knights began to raid in the heart of Europe in search of defeat in external wars.
Duke Conrad had coveted the Prussian region of Courland, but instead of getting his wish, he lost his own territory. He was unwilling to fail, but he was powerless to change the status quo, and he looked around and failed to find anyone available.
In desperation, in the name of jihad, he asked the Teutonic Knights to intervene.
The Teutonic Knights, in order to gain a permanent station, entered the Prussian region and succeeded in capturing Courland. The Order's leader, Hermann von Salza, succeeded in obtaining an edict allowing the Order to occupy Courland permanently by requesting the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II.
In 1234, Pope Gregory IX issued a bull recognizing the Teutonic Knights' ownership of the occupied Prussian lands. Conrad made a treaty with the Knights as early as 1230, agreeing to give Prussian lands such as Courland occupied by the Order.
The Church, the secular imperial power, and the local princes all acquiesced in the Teutonic Order's rule over Prussia. Eventually, the Prussians on the shores of the Baltic Sea were ruled by the Germans.
The Teutonic Knights established a series of war fortresses in Prussia, including Königsberg, near the mouth of the Pregolia River, the predecessor of today's Kaliningrad.
The Teutonic Knights ruled here as a religious state for more than 200 years, but in 1453, the Prussians revolted and the Poles attacked, and the two sides succeeded in defeating the Teutonic Knights.
The defeat of the Teutonic Knights not only led to the loss of its lands in West Prussia, but also had a profound impact on its faith in Catholicism. In 1512, Grand Master Albrecht made the decision to abandon Catholicism in favor of Lutheran Protestantism, and he directly transformed the lands of the Order into the Duchy of Prussia, which gradually rose to become the Kingdom of Prussia.
In the 18th century, the Kingdom of Prussia rapidly rose to become a European power and began to aggressively expand its territory.
In the second half of the 19th century, when Bismarck took power, the Emperor of Prussia was already Emperor of the German Empire. Although the capital of Germany had moved to Berlin at this time, East Prussia, with Königsberg as the center, was still a vital part of the country.
Today's Germans generally believe that this is the true origin of modern Germany, and is even known as the "Land of Dragons". However, it was not until 1918 that Germany was defeated in World War I, West Prussia and the Danzig Corridor connecting East and West Prussia were occupied by Poland, and East Prussia became an "island" for Germany.
When Hitler came to power, he and the Soviet Union divided Poland, uniting East and West Prussia. However, the good times did not last long, and in 1945 Germany was again defeated, and not only for the sake of East and West Germany, but also West Prussia and part of East Prussia were allocated to Poland.
The core area of East Prussia, centered on Königsberg, was assigned to the Soviet Union. In 1946, the Soviet Union renamed Königsberg Kaliningrad, and this place also became the Kaliningrad Oblast of the Soviet Union.
During the Soviet rule, the Soviet Union and Germany fought fiercely in Königsberg during World War II. The battle was like a meat grinder, with more than 60,000 Soviet troops killed and the Germans 50,000 killed, with another 80,000 captured.
Before the defeat of the German army, East Prussia had about 2.2 million German residents, but after the war, less than 200,000 remained. Of the remaining Germans, 100,000 were exiled to Siberia, and the rest were expelled from East Prussia.
In order to ensure the effective administration of the Kaliningrad region, the USSR relocated a large number of Russian-speaking residents from the mainland. In the Soviet army near Kaliningrad, they carried out propaganda in the hope that servicemen would be transferred here, and promised to give assistance to the migrants in terms of funds and housing.
By 1959, about 610,000 people had migrated to Kaliningrad, 80% of whom were Russians and most of the rest Belarusians and Ukrainians.
The ravages of the war left Kaliningrad in ruins, but the Soviet Union's comprehensive reconstruction brought it back to life. It is full of architectural styles of the fifties and sixties of the 20th century, and there are many buildings with Orthodox characteristics in the Middle East, and the Khrushchev Building is an indispensable representative.
However, before the collapse of the Soviet Union, Kaliningrad Oblast, despite its importance, was not given sufficient attention due to its importance as part of the union republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Kaliningrad may be small, but for the vast Soviet Union, its historical subordination to Germany may be more significant than its practical significance. At the Yalta Conference in 1945, Stalin stressed the importance of the Polish Plain for Russia, calling it a "matter of life and death."
Historically, the Bode Plain has been a passage for Western countries to attack Russia by land, and the first task of any Russian war is to cut off this passage.
The Kaliningrad region, thanks to its unique geographical location, perfectly fulfills the needs of Russia by land and sea. It is like a strategic hub, capable of simultaneously controlling the land and sea routes from Central and Western Europe to Russia.
In addition, from a practical point of view, the importance of the Kaliningrad region cannot be overlooked. As the only ice-free port of the Soviet Union on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea, it played a pivotal role in military planning, transportation, and infrastructure development.
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union placed almost 300,000 troops in the Kaliningrad region, while locating one of the four main parts of the Baltic Fleet here. The region is also the command center of the anti-North Atlantic Treaty military forces, with strategic nuclear weapons deployed against NATO countries.
The Soviets used it as a buffer against invasion and as a staging ground for attacks on Western Europe.
Until 1991, the Kaliningrad region had a relatively low level of economy due to its closed state, and it can even be said that it was one of the least productive regions in the Soviet Union.
This was mainly due to the fact that the USSR attached great importance to the military-strategic position of the Kaliningrad region and therefore was highly dependent on expenditures in fiscal terms. In addition, the huge military forces stationed in Kaliningrad continued to consume a lot of resources of the Soviet Union.
From the former frontier fortress against the Soviet Union to today's westernmost territory of Russia, the Kaliningrad Oblast has always shouldered Russia's military and economic responsibilities in Europe.
This "enclave" has not only become a strong shield against Western countries, but also an important strategic fulcrum for Russia to pass through the Baltic Sea. However, due to the prioritization of military functions, the local economy is relatively weak, and between 30 and 50 percent of the inhabitants work in relation to national defense.
At the end of the 20th century, Russia suffered an economic crisis, which led to a significant decline in industrial and agricultural production in the Kaliningrad region, as well as a sharp increase in unemployment and poverty. In order to reverse the economic decline, the Kaliningrad region hopes to attract foreign investment by taking advantage of its cheap labor force and advantageous geographical location.
To this end, the state began economic reforms in 1991, creating free economic zones and drastically reducing tariffs on most goods.
Russia wants to attract foreign investment to the Kaliningrad region through preferential policies, making it a special economic zone in the Baltic region. Five years later, the reality is disappointing, with very little investment in the Kaliningrad region and a separatist trend.
In order to preserve local sovereignty and promote economic development, Russia revoked Kaliningrad's tax privileges in 1996 and strengthened federal control to prevent any possible state actions.
In order to promote the development of domestic manufacturing in Russia, the Kaliningrad region has been designated as an import substitution zone, and the import of raw materials and parts into the region is exempt.
In 1998, after the Asian financial crisis, the Russian economy began to recover gradually. Between 1999 and 2005, Kaliningrad Region's exports of manufactured goods to Russia increased ninefold, and freight traffic more than tripled.
Between 2003 and 2009, the monthly per capita income of the Kaliningrad region increased from the national average of 66% to 85%, and the official unemployment rate fell sharply, reaching a low of 3 in 20074%。
As a result, Kaliningrad is praised as the "Hong Kong of the Baltic Sea", with an astonishing 90% of the world's amber resources. In addition, Putin has built a nuclear power plant on the Baltic Sea in the region, and the energy problem in Kaliningrad has been perfectly solved.
While the overall economy remains fragile, in the year following the 2008 global financial crisis, unemployment in the Kaliningrad region surged to 109%, much higher than the national average of 84%。
Due to the huge disparity in economic levels, the Kaliningrad region looks out of place compared to other regions. This unique Russian city is not only known as "the most European Russian city" because its urban style and architectural style retain strong German characteristics.
Russia's culture and politics are so different from those of Europe that it is in the awkward position of being ignored by Europe despite being in Europe. After more than 70 years of development, the Kaliningrad region currently has about 1 million inhabitants, more than 80% of whom are ethnic Russians.
However, just over 40 per cent of them were born locally.
Due to the economic disparity between the economy and European countries, residents of the Kaliningrad region are more inclined to move to countries with better living conditions. Due to conflicting ideologies, low incomes, and poor regulation, Kaliningrad Oblast has a poor security situation and one of the highest crime rates in Europe.
According to statistics, the violent crime rate in the first nine months of 2022 was 93 per 10,000 inhabitants4 cases, which is 20 more than the Russian average.
According to the Citizen Survey, 15% of Kaliningrad households have been visited by thieves, nearly half of the population are afraid of going out at night, and up to half of the citizens are worried about the safety of their people and property.
In order to hold this key strategic area, Russia has decided to re-arm itself in the face of poor economic conditions. Since 2009, Russia has deployed defensive A2 AD systems, S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems, and nuclear-capable Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad, and conducted a series of strategic military exercises.
In 2010, Russia established a new Western Military District, which listed Kaliningrad Oblast, Leningrad and Moscow as important military deployment areas. Russia's military build-up of Kaliningrad has raised concerns and alarms in Poland and Lithuania.
On September 1, 2022, Putin's trip to Kaliningrad made Poland and other European countries nervous.
Putin's actions have always sparked speculation, with many citing military factors as the main reason for Putin's visit to this small place. Kaliningrad, as a symbol of Russia's relations with the West, is expected to be smoothly integrated into the process of modernization.
However, the current situation changes suggest that the small city may be on the path of militarization and control to counter outside pressure. Text: Blue Wind Candle Dust.
For the study of the geopolitics of Kaliningrad Oblast, we can refer to Wang Zhongpei's article in Shanxi University, Issue 3, 2020, and Na Chuanlin's article in World Knowledge, Issue 1, 2015, both of which provide us with an in-depth understanding of Kaliningrad's important role in Russia's European strategy.