Kaliningrad, Adrift in Europe

Figure 1.

During the Soviet era, the western Russian city of Tver went by the name of Kalinin, named for perhaps its most famous son, Mikhail Kalinin, a past president of the Soviet Union and one of Stalin's more notorious henchmen. The city did not escape the round of renaming that occurred after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, regaining its old name of Tver. Nor did Kalininskaya Avenue in central Moscow, becoming Tverskaya again. However, one important place named for the man who ordered the Katyn Massacre in Poland retains his moniker, though only because the historic alternative is unacceptable.

Tucked away on the Baltic coast is Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave bordered by Lithuania and Poland, both members of the European Union. Once an important Soviet naval base, it has become a passage port for numerous illegal activities. Drug smuggling and human trafficking are the main problems, alongside the smuggling of amber, cigarettes and alcohol. Statistics show the crime rate in the region is 20 percent higher than in mainland Russia, and organized crime controls the illegal activities in the city, fomenting corruption and undermining economic performance. The AIDS incidence in Kaliningrad is the highest in Europe, spread by widespread prostitution and drug use. Tuberculosis and diphtheria are similarly common. Pollution smothers Kaliningrad, spurred by the poor condition of what industry remains and abetted by the region's investment in technological innovation. Currently one of the poorest areas in Europe—its people are 65 times poorer than the average E.U. citizen—the city is a receptacle of criminality, organized crime and drugs.

Kaliningrad has kept the name of the old Soviet leader only because it is the former Koenigsberg, the former Prussian capital and German philosopher Immanuel Kant's hometown. Founded in 1255, Koenigsberg soon became a prominent port in the Baltic Sea and a key member of the Hanseatic League. The city became the capital of East Prussia upon its incorporation into the German Empire in 1871, its location favoring development as an important commercial hub. After World War I, the city was separated from the rest of Germany by Polish territory, and during World War II, Allied forces leveled the city. The Red Army occupied it in 1945, expelling or killing the German population of about 200,000. By 2003, only 0.2 percent of the population was ethnic German. Under the Soviet regime, the city served as the base of the Baltic Fleet.

With the collapse of the USSR in 1991 and the accession to the European Union of Poland and Lithuania in 2004, Kaliningrad became a Russian enclave within the European Union. Brussels, Warsaw and Vilnius fear a spillover of criminality and diseases to the European Union. The Baltic states have created a task force to fight organized crime in the region, with "expert groups" focused on various criminal activities. The task force collects data and coordinates the policing efforts by the different countries. Ad hoc programs have also been implemented, including the "Eastern Baltic Sea Amphetamine Program," which seeks to stem the flow of the drug in the region.

Cut off from the rest of Russia, transit problems have arisen for Kaliningrad residents. The European Union has introduced a special permit—a "Facilitated Transit Document"—for Kaliningrad inhabitants traveling to Russia, but the risk of illegal immigration flowing into the European Union is real. The gap in living conditions between Kaliningrad and its neighbors widens over time as the enclave's neighbors prosper. Kaliningrad's average monthly income is one-third of Lithuania's and one-fifth of Poland's, and the two countries expect further strong growth with their membership in the European club. Meanwhile, Kaliningrad has seen little growth or development.

Kant would be sad to see the state of his hometown today. Returning the city to its past splendor and its key role in northern European dynamics is a challenge that the European Union and Russia will have to overcome in order to build a better future for the enclave's inhabitants and citizens of the neighboring countries. As in other...