'An Economic Target': Russia's Kaliningrad Exclave Confronts New Levels Of Isolation

Radio Free Europe ^ | March 02, 2022 16:31 GMT | Yulia Paramonova

[MercyFlush]

I came across this article after trying to verify what I'd heard on the radio that NATO is going to close road and train access to Kaliningrad from Belarus and that NATO airspace is closing to Russian aircraft. The Russian access to Kaliningrad will be by sea and air and then only in the international airspace and waters of the Baltic Sea.

Given Russia's new threats against the Baltic states today I'd say this is prudent and sensible to prevent the Russians from putting armored forces into the Oblast.

[CondoleezzaProtege]

Talk about awkward location.

[Meet the New Boss]

Supposedly Putin has nukes in Kaliningrad

Putin claimed that Ukraine is not a real country because it was historically Russo-Slavic and so on, but Kaliningrad was never Russo-Slavic

By his own logic, Putin should give it back to Europe

[AndyJackson]

STOP this insanity. Just STOP!

[VeniVidiVici]

I don’t understand why Russia was allowed to keep Kaliningrad.

[alternatives?]

Should be Germany.

[grumpygresh]

They can’t give it back to Prussia anymore. I don’t think anyone would consent giving it to Germany because I doubt there are many ethnic Germans there anymore. When borders were drawn after WW2, the Soviets got to keep the eastern part of Poland that they took after the Nazi-Soviet pact when Poland was divided up by Germany and SU. To compensate Poland after WW2 for the territory they lost in the east they got parts of Silesia Prussia that were part of Germany. Populations were forced to shift.

Now the SU also got to take back the Baltic counties that Russia had before WWI. The Russians once had Baltic countries but lost them after WW1. When the SU got the Baltic counties back after WW2, there was a gap because Poland’s borders shifted west. The gap area at the time was continuous with the SU. But when SU fell, the Baltic countries became independent again and the enclave of Kaliningrad was left under Russian control. It was a part of the Russian SSR so it stayed with Russia.

[BiglyCommentary]

Putin is single handedly destroying Russia. I expect Russians to take of this problem.

[blueunicorn6]

Does anyone think that Putin doesn’t know who is supplying Ukraine?

Does anyone think he will just forget that?

[Monterrosa-24]

We should demand vote by the citizens of Kaliningrad to see if they want to be Konigsberg again and not part of Russia. Spoiler alert: they don’t want to be part of Russia.

[Fiji Hill]

From the fifteenth to the seventeenth century Kaliningrad, then known as Królewiec in Polish or Königsberg in German, was ruled by Poland as a vassal, but its leadership remained German and Germans remained the majority.

[OKSooner]

How would one say, “But that’s different!” in Russian?

[ptsal]

Informative thread

[Tallguy]

Kinda interesting how the United Nations sanctions wholesale population shifts while generally treating sovereign borders as sacrosanct. I guess the egghead diplomats in NYC see no contradiction there.

[exinnj]

Ever heard of who’s won WW2?

[alexander_busek]

I don’t understand why Russia was allowed to keep given Kaliningrad.

There, fixed it for you!

Regards,

[VeniVidiVici]

Ever hear of the Baltics?

[MercyFlush]

Putin can stop this insanity anytime he wants to. The rest of us will respond to his insanity.

[MercyFlush]

We’re not supplying Ukraine. Not at all.

It’s just a special logistics operation.

[MercyFlush]

I certainly hope it’s a Russian who kills Putin. That would be best for everyone.