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Kaliningrad is a mass of land in Europe that is a Russian Oblast. It is not connected to Russia but instead Poland and Lithuania and connected by countries that are the Schengen Zone ( http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...n_Area.svg.png - See that white "country" in the Baltic States)
Wouldn't it be good, if it could claim independence from Russia? It would greatly benefit the citizens of Kaliningrad. Kalinin would make a nice name for a country too. The economy is one of the best in any Russian Oblast, and it's the wealthiest per capita.
Why is this good? Greatly eliminates tension from leaving & entering Russia. (Aka Kaliningrad) and people traveling the Baltic states.
I'm having deja vu. I had a thread on this same topic a couple of months ago. People said it would never happen, because Kalinin Oblast has a lot of military bases.
I first came across the idea of independence on a Prussian language, culture and history site (which doesn't seem to be up anymore). Descendants of ethnic Prussians want their homeland back, so it would be a 3rd independent ethnically-Baltic state, along with Latvia and Lithuania.
It's a nice dream, but that's all it'll ever be, in the foreseeable future, anyway.
Kaliningrad is a mass of land in Europe that is a Russian Oblast. It is not connected to Russia but instead Poland and Lithuania and connected by countries that are the Schengen Zone ( http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...n_Area.svg.png - See that white "country" in the Baltic States)
Wouldn't it be good, if it could claim independence from Russia? It would greatly benefit the citizens of Kaliningrad. Kalinin would make a nice name for a country too.
It is not favorable to inhabitants of the Kaliningrad region to separate from Russia since they (also as Vladivostok) have the special status. Through these regions passes large volume of smuggling which feeds local population, Kaliningrad call "a black hole" of Russia, but having separated they will lose this advantage.
There are already other small maverick states surrounding Russia (Transdniestria, Abkhazia, South Ossetia). I believe it's enough already. Multiplicating micro-states can only be a source of trouble on the international scene.
Not sure I understand why the ~80% Russians that make up Kaliningrad would want to secede from the motherland.
Because they're becoming increasingly isolated - This can really only harm Kaliningrad in the future. It's also in a longtime area of Prussian culture and ethnicity. Russia doesn't seem to have much of an interest in this area. It's almost an area of political tension for the Baltic countries having yet another Russian border.
I wouldn't be happy there, or in a city near there in Poland or Lithuania. I can't really imagine them either - essentially it functions as a country when it comes to everything but politically. It has it's own economic and culture-tied niches.
Because they're becoming increasingly isolated - This can really only harm Kaliningrad in the future. It's also in a longtime area of Prussian culture and ethnicity. Russia doesn't seem to have much of an interest in this area. It's almost an area of political tension for the Baltic countries having yet another Russian border.
I wouldn't be happy there, or in a city near there in Poland or Lithuania. I can't really imagine them either - essentially it functions as a country when it comes to everything but politically. It has it's own economic and culture-tied niches.
I'm not sure I buy your premise about isolation, but I admit I don't know the specifics. My only point is that the people of Kaliningrad have the same ethnic makeup as 'mainland' Russia, so why would they want to become their own country?
Sadly, WWII took care of the "longtime area of Prussian culture and ethnicity". Unless you're advocating a massive return of Prussians (the Russians won't like that), this enclave is never going to become a country on the basis of its Prussian heritage. The timeline is obviously different but IMO it's similar to Serbia's claims to Kosovo for historical reasons -- it's just too late now.
I'm having deja vu. I had a thread on this same topic a couple of months ago. People said it would never happen, because Kalinin Oblast has a lot of military bases.
I first came across the idea of independence on a Prussian language, culture and history site (which doesn't seem to be up anymore). Descendants of ethnic Prussians want their homeland back, so it would be a 3rd independent ethnically-Baltic state, along with Latvia and Lithuania.
It's a nice dream, but that's all it'll ever be, in the foreseeable future, anyway.
Prussians? What Prussians? The Baltic Prussians were ethnically cleansed by the Germans (Teutonic Knights) with the Prussian culture going extinct by the 17th century. The German Prussians just adopted the old name of the peoples they exterminated, they are the same "settlers" as current Russians, both are not native populations of the region.
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