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Part of Russia? Was it "stolen" from someone else the way Crimea recently was? (please note I don't mean to start any debates, just want facts)
Stalin made a land grab at the end of WWII. He got Eastern Prussia (after Lithuania managed to save a slice of it from falling into his hands: the easternmost portion that was heavily populated by Lithuanians), Moldova (Bessarabia, at that time), plus Ukraine and Belarus. Eastern Prussia was war booty for helping win the war against Germany. He then forced all German residents and any descendants of the original ethnic (Balt) Prussians that remained after Germany's ethnic cleansing of the area that began in the 13th Century to walk west into Germany in the middle of winter. He replaced them with Slavs. As you may know, Stalin was big on population transfers of ethnic peoples. Kalinin District provides Russia with a year-round ice-free port, a very precious asset.
Anyway, getting land taken is what happens sometimes when a country attacks another. Please see current country borders of almost every country in the world and how those borders came into existence for further information.
Not only Kaliningrad, but western Ukraine as well (along with numerous borders as a result of WW2), I will not hold my breathe for a thread titled "why is western Ukraine..."
Stalin made a land grab at the end of WWII. He got Eastern Prussia (after Lithuania managed to save a slice of it from falling into his hands: the easternmost portion that was heavily populated by Lithuanians), Moldova (Bessarabia, at that time), plus Ukraine and Belarus.
Only Western Ukraine and Western Belarus, and not at the end of WWII, but in 1939 as a result of Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. The same with Moldova.
As for Kaliningrad -- yes, that land was really grabbed at the end of the war.
Only Western Ukraine and Western Belarus, and not at the end of WWII, but in 1939 as a result of Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. The same with Moldova.
As for Kaliningrad -- yes, that land was really grabbed at the end of the war.
hmm.... thanks. So, we'll keep the topic on eastern Prussia, then. Didn't Germany lose other territory as a result of the Potsdam Conference, too?
Only Western Ukraine and Western Belarus, and not at the end of WWII, but in 1939 as a result of Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. The same with Moldova.
As for Kaliningrad -- yes, that land was really grabbed at the end of the war.
Yes, and the Russian land grab in 1939/40 (and again 1944) also included Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia as well as Eastern Poland (which you refer to above), none of which was returned until 1990 when the former 3 regained independance. What was Eastern Poland before 1939 is now still part of Belarus/Ukraine.
Yes, and the Russian land grab in 1939/40 (and again 1944) also included Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia as well as Eastern Poland (which you refer to above), none of which was returned until 1990 when the former 3 regained independance. What was Eastern Poland before 1939 is now still part of Belarus/Ukraine.
+ Parts of Finnish Karelia, Salla, Petsamo and the islands in the Gulf of Finland.
Yes, the 20th century was filled with wars. By the way, if we remember the events of the 20th century, the Ukraine received Crimea from Russia without a referendum in 1991.
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So, we'll keep the topic on eastern Prussia, then. Didn't Germany lose other territory as a result of the Potsdam Conference, too?
