General Characteristics of the Kaliningrad Region

In: Romanian military thinking, Band 2022, Heft 4, S. 112-129

Abstract

"This article presents a brief but informative examination of the Kaliningrad region in order to find out the mysteries of a geographical territory that belongs to Northern Europe, but currently represents Russia's only European trophy after winning the Second World War. The paper contains general elements, as well as data that may seem new, through which the geography and history of the region are analysed in the first part. After understanding the natural state and the secular heritage of this territory, we will portray the policies of the Russian Federation imposed on its exclave, determine whether Kaliningrad is an important commercial actor on the international stage and investigate the evolution of the population from an ethnic, cultural and religious point of view. All these elements described previously represent an essential body of knowledge in our attempt to ultimately determine the importance of the Kaliningrad Oblast as a first-line geopolitical bastion in the eternal East-West confrontation in Europe."