Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad (/kəˈlɪnɪnɡræd/ kə-LIN-in-grad; Russian: Калининград, IPA: [kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat]), until 1946 known as Königsberg (German pronunciation: [ˈkøːnɪçsbɛʁk] ; Russian: Кёнигсберг, romanized: Kyonigsberg, IPA: [ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbʲerk]; Polish: Królewiec), is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave between Lithuania and Poland. The city sits about 663 kilometres (412 mi) west of the bulk of Russia. The city is situated on the Pregolya River, at the head of the Vistula Lagoon on the Baltic Sea, and is the only ice-free Russian port on the Baltic Sea. Its population in 2020 was 489,359,[11] with up to 800,000 residents in the urban agglomeration.[12][13] Kaliningrad is the second-largest city in the Northwestern Federal District, after Saint Petersburg, the third-largest city in the Baltic region, and the seventh-largest city on the Baltic Sea.
This article is about the city since 1945. For detailed history before 1945, see Königsberg. For the oblast where the city is located, see Kaliningrad Oblast. For other uses, see Kaliningrad (disambiguation).
Kaliningrad
Калининград
1 September 1255[2]
City Council of Deputies[3]
Elena Ivanovna Dyatlova[4]
223.03 km2 (86.11 sq mi)
5 m (16 ft)
431,402
475,056
40th in 2010
1,900/km2 (5,000/sq mi)
city of oblast significance of Kaliningrad[1]
Kaliningrad Oblast,[7] city of oblast significance of Kaliningrad[1]
Kaliningrad Urban Okrug[8]
Kaliningrad Urban Okrug[8]
+7 4012
27701000001
4 July; observed on the first Saturday of July
Modern-day Kaliningrad was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement Twangste by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named Königsberg in honor of King Ottokar II of Bohemia. A Baltic port city, it successively became the capital of the State of the Teutonic Order, the Duchy of Prussia (1525–1701) and East Prussia. Königsberg remained the coronation city of the Prussian monarchy, though the capital was moved to Berlin in 1701. From 1454 to 1455, the city under the name of Królewiec belonged to the Kingdom of Poland, and from 1466 to 1657 it was a Polish fief. Königsberg was the easternmost large city in Germany until World War II. The city was heavily damaged by Allied bombing in 1944 and during the Battle of Königsberg in 1945; it was then captured by the Soviet Union on 9 April 1945. The Potsdam Agreement of 1945 placed it under Soviet administration. The city was renamed Kaliningrad in 1946 in honor of Russian Bolshevik leader Mikhail Kalinin. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, it has been governed as the administrative centre of Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast, the westernmost oblast of Russia.[14]
As a major transport hub, with sea and river ports, the city is home to the headquarters of the Baltic Fleet of the Russian Navy, and is one of the largest industrial centres in Russia.[15] It was deemed the best city in Russia in 2012, 2013, and 2014 in Kommersant's magazine The Firm's Secret,[16] the best city in Russia for business in 2013 according to Forbes,[17] and was ranked fifth in the Urban Environment Quality Index published by Minstroy in 2019.[18] Kaliningrad has been a major internal migration attraction in Russia over the past two decades,[19] and was one of the host cities of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
The Pregolya River in Kaliningrad
The pseudo-historic "Fishermen's village"
Economy[edit]
In 1996, Kaliningrad was designated a Special Economic Zone, referred to as FEZ Yantar. Manufacturers based there get tax and customs duty breaks on the goods they send to other parts of Russia. Although corruption was an early deterrent, that policy means the region is now a manufacturing hub. One in three televisions in Russia are made in Kaliningrad (including Ericsson brand by Telebalt Ltd. and Polar by an eponymous firm located in the city of Chernyakhovsk) and it is home to Cadillac and BMW related car plants (produced by Avtotor). Kaliningrad's major industries are manufacturing, shipping, fishing and amber products. In 2006, Moscow declared it would turn the region into "the Russian Hong Kong".[87]
Today, there are 21 higher educational institutions in Kaliningrad (together with branches of universities in other cities), of which state-owned are:
Also in Kaliningrad there is a branch of the North-West Academy of Public Administration and National Economy, from secondary educational institutions – three gymnasiums, six lyceums and forty-seven secondary schools. There are educational institutions of secondary vocational education: Kaliningrad Regional College of Music. S. V. Rachmaninova, Kaliningrad State College of Urban Development, Kaliningrad Marine Fisheries College and others; to the IKBFU I. Kant included the Kaliningrad Technical College, the Communal Construction College. In addition, there is one cadet corps – KSH "Andrew the First-Called Cadet Naval Corps" (APKMK).
In August 2019, construction began on a branch of the Nakhimov Naval School. The opening is scheduled for September 1, 2020, the number of students will be over 560 people.[88]
Transport[edit]
Roads[edit]
Kaliningrad is a major transport hub. The most important roads of the city are:
International relations[edit]
Diplomatic missions[edit]
In 2004 Germany opened a consulate general in Kaliningrad.[102] This consulate allows Kaliningrad residents to get Schengen visas without having to travel to Moscow. An agreement between Gerhard Schröder, Chancellor of Germany, and President of Russia Vladimir Putin established the consulate in light of Lithuania and Poland, which surround Kaliningrad, joining the EU. Russian concerns with Germany wanting the former Königsberg back had stifled earlier plans for a German consulate.[103][104][105]
Small border traffic law[edit]
Poland and the Russian Federation have an agreement whereby residents of Kaliningrad and the Polish cities of Olsztyn, Elbląg and Gdańsk may obtain "small border traffic" cards permitting repeated travel between the two countries, crossing the Polish–Russian border. As of July 2013, Poland had issued 100,000 of the cards.[106]