“Poland and Lithuania have the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad boxed in on the Baltic coast.”
You’re putting the cart before the horse. Russia was given Kaliningrad (Konigsberg) after WWII. Prior to that it was part of Prussia (specifically, East Prussia), which was part of the German Empire before WWI, and of the German Reich prior to and during WWII.
In other words, Russia WANTED Konigsberg, and it was given to Russia at Potsdam. So, Russia sreaching that it is “surrounded” is a joke, as that is what Russia opted for in 1945: It has been physically separated from Russian for generations.
Yup, well said!