One Russian city does not have a land connection with the rest of Russia. This is Kaliningrad. There is a small piece of Russia between the two NATO members, Lithuania and Poland. Therefore, “just in case”, Russia is building up its military presence in Kaliningrad. For example, a few years ago, the Kremlin deployed Iskander missile systems here, allowing to attack Berlin or Warsaw. A few days ago, there were the largest anti-terrorism exercises in the history of Kaliningrad. Does it mean that Russia is preparing for a potential armed conflict with NATO countries in this zone? Or is Russia preparing to suppress potential separatist protests in Kaliningrad? Or is it trying to achieve two goals at once?
The specificity of the region is not only about its geopolitical location, but also about the peculiarities of the mentality of local residents. Unlike other Russians, the people of Kaliningrad could travel to the EU countries in a very easy way. Almost everyone has an international passport. According to different ratings, Kaliningrad has been recognized as the best city in Russia, the most beautiful city in Russia and the best city for business. We could talk about special Kaliningrad identity, which closely intertwined with European and Russian cultural features. Of course, the standard of living in Kaliningrad is lower than in the EU cities.
In addition, the population of Kaliningrad is not passive. For example, in 2010, in Kaliningrad, there were the most numerous protests in the history of Putin’s Russia at that time, which led to the resignation of Governor. About 12 thousand people, dissatisfied with region’s economy and the standard of living especially in comparison with neighboring EU cities, came out on the streets. In particular, truckers were outraged by the increase in regional transport tax rate.
Of course, the region is under special control of the FSB, which does not allow to “rock the boat”. Nevertheless, there are preconditions for instability. For example, the problem of renaming the city. Koenigsberg was founded by the Germans in the 13th century, and in 1946 the city was named after the Soviet figure Mikhail Kalinin, who has nothing to do with the city. Obviously, the returning of the Prussian name to the city will strengthen separatist sentiments. Thus, propaganda marks as Russophobes all people advocating return the historical name of the city.
The Russian propaganda pays special attention to the problem of so-called “Germanization” of the region, accusing the local opposition in the desire to return the Kaliningrad region to Germany through German cultural expansion. In fact, the problem of “Germanization” is contrived by the Kremlin in order to compromise the opposition.
I would like to especially mention cases of repeated attacks on opposition representatives by so-called Cossacks who receive multi-million grants from the regional budget by “Development of civil society” program. The beatings of political activists have become a sad norm in the region, and authorities and courts turn a blind eye to these facts.
Moreover, local security forces are actively fighting with “extremists”, as they say. For example, in March 2014, when Russian flags began to rise in the Ukrainian Crimea, three civilian activists placed the flag of Germany in the garage of the FSB Directorate in Kaliningrad. This act symbolized a protest against the annexation of the Crimea and the encouragement of separatism by the Russian authorities in the Donbas. However, according to Russian logic, the annexation of Crimea is legal, and these guys who just hung out the flag of a foreign state are extremists. As a result, they spent more than a year in jail, and the court found them guilty.
At the end of March 2017, large-scale anti-terrorism exercises were held in Kaliningrad. The APCs were moving along the streets and people wearing military uniforms, as well. In social networks, you could find the FSB document on the results of anti-terrorist exercises in the Kaliningrad region. This report emphasizes that the threat of manifestations of separatism remains a key threat to the constitutional order in the Kaliningrad region. Also, local authorities will not be able to control the situation in case of mass “strike from below”.
So, Kaliningrad is one of the most vulnerable points in Russia. The Kremlin could view Kaliningrad as an islet in the enemy’s rear, but the reality shows that this islet, integrating into Europe, is becoming more and more difficult to control.
