Editing Kaliningrad Oblast (section)

==History==
The territory of what is now the Kaliningrad Oblast used to be inhabited by the [[Old Prussians]] and other [[Western Balts]], prior to the [[Teutonic Order|Teutonic]] conquest in the early [[Late Middle Ages]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Matulevičius |first=Algirdas |title=Prūsija |trans-title=Prussia |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/prusija/ |access-date=2022-05-13 |website=[[Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija|VLE]] |language=lt |archive-date=7 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107210515/https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/prusija/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Afterwards, it was settled by [[Germans]] (especially the western part), [[Lithuanians]] (especially [[Lithuania Minor]]) and [[Polish people|Poles]] (especially [[History of Poles in Königsberg|Königsberg]], {{langx|pl|Królewiec}}, and the current southern border strip). The Old Prussians became extinct due to [[Germanisation]] in the first half of the 18th century.<ref name=":3" /> The Lithuanian-inhabited areas of the Teutonic State were known as [[Lithuania Minor]], which encompassed all of modern Kaliningrad Oblast until the 18th century.<ref name=":3" />

=== Late Middle Ages ===
[[File:Замок Бранденбург; Руины замка 01.jpg|thumb|left|Medieval castle ruins in [[Ushakovo, Novomoskovsky Rural Okrug, Guryevsky District, Kaliningrad Oblast|Ushakovo]]]]
In the 13th century, the [[Teutonic Order]] conquered the region and established the [[State of the Teutonic Order]], a [[theocracy]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gudavičius |first=Edvardas |title=Vokiečių ordinas |trans-title=German Order |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/vokieciu-ordinas/ |access-date=2022-05-13 |website=[[Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija|VLE]] |language=lt |archive-date=13 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213192741/https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/vokieciu-ordinas/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1255, on the foundations of a destroyed [[Sambians|Sambian]] settlement known as {{Lang|lt|Tvanksta}}, the Teutonic Order founded the city of [[Königsberg]] (modern Kaliningrad), naming it in honour of [[Ottokar II of Bohemia]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last1=Matulevičius |first1=Algirdas |last2=Purvinas |first2=Martynas |title=Karaliaučiaus istorija |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/karaliauciaus-istorija/ |access-date=2022-05-13 |website=[[Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija|VLE]] |language=lt |archive-date=1 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201190700/https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/karaliauciaus-istorija/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Northern Crusades]], including the [[Lithuanian Crusade]], were partly motivated by [[colonization]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last1=Jasas |first1=Rimantas |last2=Kairiūkštytė |first2=Nastazija |last3=Matulevičius |first3=Algirdas |title=kolonizacija |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/kolonizacija/ |access-date=2022-05-13 |website=[[Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija|VLE]] |language=lt |archive-date=8 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408185733/https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/kolonizacija/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The German colonist peasants, craftsmen, and merchants were predominantly concentrated in the southern part of the Teutonic State and did not move into [[Nadruvians|Nadruvia]] and [[Skalvia]] due to the Lithuanian military threat.<ref name=":4" />

In 1454, following a request by the anti-Teutonic [[Prussian Confederation]], the territory was incorporated to the [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Kingdom of Poland]] by King [[Casimir IV Jagiellon]],<ref>{{Cite book|last=Górski|first=Karol|title=Związek Pruski i poddanie się Prus Polsce: zbiór tekstów źródłowych|year=1949|publisher=Instytut Zachodni|location=Poznań|language=pl|page=54}}</ref> an event that sparked the [[Thirteen Years' War (1454–1466)]]. After Poland's victory in the war with the [[Second Peace of Thorn (1466)|Second Peace of Thorn]], the State of the Teutonic Order became a vassal of Poland,<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last1=Matulevičius |first1=Algirdas |last2=Kaunas |first2=Domas |title=Mažoji Lietuva |trans-title=Lithuania Minor |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/mazoji-lietuva/ |access-date=2022-05-13 |website=[[Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija|VLE]] |language=lt |archive-date=3 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203190510/https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/mazoji-lietuva/ |url-status=live }}</ref> also considered an integral part of "one and indivisible" Kingdom of Poland.<ref>Górski, pp. 96–97, 214–215</ref> During this war, the capital of the Teutonic state was moved from Marienburg (now [[Malbork]]) to Königsberg in 1457.<ref name=":3" /> When the rulers of Prussia were vassals of the King of Poland from 1466 to 1660, there were few German colonists.<ref name=":3" />{{History of Brandenburg and Prussia}}

===Early modern period===
After the [[Polish–Teutonic War (1519–1521)|Teutonic Order lost the war of 1519–1521 with Poland]], the Teutonic Order remained a vassal of the Kingdom of Poland.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Matulevičius |first=Algirdas |title=Albrechtas Brandenburgietis |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/albrechtas-brandenburgietis/ |access-date=2022-05-13 |website=[[Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija|VLE]] |language=lt |archive-date=25 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925005419/https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/albrechtas-brandenburgietis/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1525, Grand Master [[Albert, Duke of Prussia|Albert of Brandenburg]] [[German mediatisation|secularized]] the Teutonic Order's Prussian branch and established himself as ruler of the [[Duchy of Prussia]], the first Protestant state in Europe.<ref name=":2" /> Königsberg was the residence of the [[Duke of Prussia]] from 1525 until 1701,<ref name=":0" /> and was the Duchy of Prussia's capital until 1660, when the capital moved to [[Berlin]].<ref name=":0" />

Polish and Lithuanian culture blossomed in Königsberg, with the city being the place of publication of the first Polish- and Lithuanian-language [[cathechism]]s (by [[Jan Seklucjan]] and [[Catechism of Martynas Mažvydas|Martynas Mažvydas]]), the first Polish translation of the [[New Testament]], ''[[Grammatica Litvanica]]'', the first Lithuanian grammar book, and the [[Albertina University]] being the second oldest university of the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]], after receiving a royal [[privilege (law)|privilege]] from King [[Sigismund II Augustus]] in 1560.<ref name=wp>{{cite magazine|last=Podbereski|first=Wacław|year=2010|title=Królewiec – Koenigsberg – Kaliningrad|magazine=Znad Wilii|volume=4 |language=pl|issue=44|pages=113–114|issn=1392-9712}}</ref> Polish printing continued for centuries with the last Polish publication in 1931.<ref name=wp/>

In 1577, the Duke of Prussia forbade [[serfdom|serfs]]—who were mostly Old Prussians, Lithuanians, and [[Masurians]]—to leave the land that was the property of the German knights who became proprietary nobles.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Matulevičius |first=Algirdas |title=Prūsijos kunigaikštystė |trans-title=Duchy of Prussia |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/prusijos-kunigaikstyste/ |access-date=2022-05-13 |website=[[Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija|VLE]] |language=lt |archive-date=5 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205040022/https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/prusijos-kunigaikstyste/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1618, the Duchy merged with the [[Margraviate of Brandenburg]] to form [[Brandenburg-Prussia]],<ref name=":1" /> remaining under Polish suzerainty until 1660. There was strong opposition to the separation of the region from Poland, especially in Königsberg.<ref name=jm>{{cite magazine|last=Małłek|first=Janusz|year=1992|title=Polityka miasta Królewca wobec Polski w latach 1525–1701|magazine=Komunikaty Mazursko-Warmińskie|language=pl|issue=3–4|pages=254–255}}</ref> A confederation was formed in the city to maintain Poland's sovereignty over the city and region.<ref name=jm/> The Brandenburg Elector and his army, however, entered the city and abducted and imprisoned the leader of the city's anti-Elector opposition [[Hieronymus Roth]].<ref name=jm/> In 1663, the city burghers, forced by [[Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg|Elector Frederick William]], swore an oath of allegiance to him, however, in the same ceremony they still also pledged allegiance to Poland.<ref name=jm/>

In 1724, King [[Frederick William I of Prussia]] prohibited [[Polish people|Poles]], [[Samogitians]] and [[Jews]] from settling in Lithuania Minor, and initiated German colonization to change the region's ethnic composition.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kętrzyński|first=Wojciech|author-link=Wojciech Kętrzyński|year=1882|title=O ludności polskiej w Prusiech niegdyś krzyżackich|language=pl|location=Lwów|publisher=[[Ossolineum|Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich]]|pages=615–616}}</ref> In 1734–1736, Königsberg was the place of stay of Polish King [[Stanisław Leszczyński]] during the [[War of the Polish Succession]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Ciesielski|first=Tomasz|editor-last=Gieszczyński|editor-first=Witold|editor-last2=Kasparek|editor-first2=Norbert|year=2010|title=Wielkie wojny w Prusach. Działania militarne między dolną Wisłą a Niemnem na przestrzeni wieków|language=pl|location=Dąbrówno|pages=108, 113|chapter=Prusy Wschodnie w trakcie polskiej wojny sukcesyjnej i wojny siedmioletniej|isbn=978-83-62552-00-9}}</ref> In 1756 Russia decided to go to war with the Kingdom of Prussia and annex the territory, which was then to be offered to Poland as part of a territorial exchange desired by Russia.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ciesielski|first=Tomasz|editor-last=Gieszczyński|editor-first=Witold|editor-last2=Kasparek|editor-first2=Norbert|year=2010|title=Wielkie wojny w Prusach. Działania militarne między dolną Wisłą a Niemnem na przestrzeni wieków|language=pl|location=Dąbrówno|page=118|chapter=Prusy Wschodnie w trakcie polskiej wojny sukcesyjnej i wojny siedmioletniej|isbn=978-83-62552-00-9}}</ref> The territory was occupied and annexed by Russia in 1758 during the [[Seven Years' War]] before being returned to Prussia in 1762 when [[Miracle of the House of Brandenburg|Russia switched sides in the war]].<ref name="auto1">Roqueplo O: La Russie et son Miroir...2018</ref> It was then reorganized into the province of [[East Prussia]] within the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] in 1773.

The current oblast also contains the now abandoned village of [[Narmeln]] ({{langx|pl|link=no|Polski}}), which was not part of Ducal Prussia, but of the [[Pomeranian Voivodeship (1466–1772)|Pomeranian Voivodeship]] of the Kingdom of Poland until its annexation by the Kingdom of Prussia the [[Second Partition of Poland]] in 1793,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Biskup|first1=Marian|last2=Tomczak|first2=Andrzej|year=1955|title=Mapy województwa pomorskiego w drugiej połowie XVI w.|language=pl|location=Toruń|page=129}}</ref> and is thus part of the historic region of [[Pomerania]].

=== 19th century ===

====Napoleonic invasion and occupation====
After the defeats of [[Battle of Jena–Auerstedt|Jena–Auerstedt]], the Kingdom of Prussia was invaded and [[Fall of Berlin (1806)|Berlin was occupied]] by the French. The Court of Prussia fled to Königsberg, asking for Russian help. Russia intervened, leading to the bloody [[Battle of Eylau]] and [[Battle of Friedland]] in 1807. Following a French victory in the latter, both sides signed the [[Treaties of Tilsit]].<ref name="auto1"/>

====Historical ethnic and religious structure====
In 1817, East Prussia had 796,204 [[Evangelical Church in Germany|Protestants]], 120,123 [[Catholic Church|Catholics]], 2,389 [[Jews]], and 864 [[Mennonites]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/en/view/bsb10001094?page=57|title=Übersicht der Bodenfläche und Bevölkerung des Preußischen Staates: aus den für das Jahr 1817 mtlich eingezogenen Nachrichten|last=Hoffmann|first=Johann Gottfried|publisher=Decker|year=1818|location=Berlin|page=51|access-date=17 January 2023|archive-date=26 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326032011/https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/en/view/bsb10001094?page=57|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Пос. Чистые пруды, музей К.Донелайтиса.JPG|thumb|Memorial Museum of [[Kristijonas Donelaitis]] in [[Chistye Prudy, Kaliningrad Oblast|Chistye Prudy]]]]

In 1824, shortly before its [[Province of Prussia|merger]] with [[West Prussia]], the population of East Prussia was 1,080,000 people.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://obc.opole.pl/dlibra/doccontent?id=8541|title=Jeografia wschodniéy części Europy czyli Opis krajów przez wielorakie narody słowiańskie zamieszkanych: obejmujący Prussy, Xsięztwo Poznańskie, Szląsk Pruski, Gallicyą, Rzeczpospolitę Krakowską, Krolestwo Polskie i Litwę|last=Plater|first=Stanisław|publisher=u Wilhelma Bogumiła Korna|year=1825|location=Wrocław|page=17|language=pl|access-date=23 December 2018|archive-date=23 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181223163913/http://obc.opole.pl/dlibra/doccontent?id=8541|url-status=live}}</ref> According to [[Karl Andree]], Germans were slightly more than half of the people, while 280,000 (~26%) were [[Polish people|ethnically Polish]] and 200,000 (~19%) were [[Prussian Lithuanians|ethnically Lithuanian]].<ref name="Karl Andree">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_xgUEAAAAYAAJ|title=Polen: in geographischer, geschichtlicher und culturhistorischer Hinsicht|last1=Andree|first1=Karl|publisher=Verlag von Ludwig Schumann|year=1831|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_xgUEAAAAYAAJ/page/n227 218]|language=de}}</ref> As of 1819, there were also 20,000-strong{{Clarify|reason=Did both these two minorities have 20,000 people, or is that the combined population?|date=January 2023}} ethnic [[Kursenieki|Curonian]] and [[Latvians|Latvian]] minorities as well as 2,400 [[Jews]], according to Georg Hassel.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Statistischer Umriß der sämmtlichen europäischen und der vornehmsten außereuropäischen Staaten, in Hinsicht ihrer Entwickelung, Größe, Volksmenge, Finanz- und Militärverfassung, tabellarisch dargestellt; Erster Heft: Welcher die beiden großen Mächte Österreich und Preußen und den Deutschen Staatenbund darstellt|last=Hassel|first=Georg|publisher=Verlag des Geographischen Instituts Weimar|year=1823|page=41|language=de}}</ref> Similar numbers are given by [[August von Haxthausen]] in his 1839 book, with a breakdown by county.<ref name="Haxthausen">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gsj1FBg0gvUC&pg=PA75|title=Die Ländliche Verfassung in den Einzelnen Provinzen der Preussischen Monarchie|last1=Haxthausen|first1=August|year=1839|pages=75–91|language=de}}</ref> However, the majority of East Prussian Polish and Lithuanian inhabitants were [[Lutheranism|Lutherans]], not [[Catholic Church|Catholics]] like their ethnic kinsmen across the border in the [[Russian Empire]]. Only in southern [[Warmia]] did [[Catholic Church in Poland|Catholic Poles]]—so called [[Warmians (ethnic group)|Warmians]] (not to be confused with predominantly [[Masurians|Protestant Masurians]])—comprise the majority of the population, numbering 26,067 people (~81%) in [[Landkreis Allenstein|county Allenstein]] (Polish: [[Olsztyn]]) in 1837.<ref name="Haxthausen"/>

====German culture and Germanization====
[[file:Etnoregionai.png|thumb|Historic [[Lithuania Minor]] (red) comprised the eastern part of the [[Prussia (region)|Prussian region]] that is now Kaliningrad Oblast]]
[[file:Curonians kursenieki in 1649.png|thumb|[[Curonian Spit]] in 1649, inhabited by the [[Kursenieki]]]]
[[file:Cranz Damenbad 1900.jpg|thumb|Resort town of Cranz ([[Zelenogradsk]] today) as it looked circa 1900. It was a destination for [[List of German artists|German artists]] and [[intelligentsia]]]]

In the 19th century, East Prussia was commonly viewed by German commentators as culturally backwards and a part of the "German mission in the East" rather than a core German territory. Pan-Germanist politician [[:de:Ernst Hasse (Politiker)|Ernst Hasse]] criticised the lack of folk identity and [[imagined community]]: "It is the case that there is almost no common folk identity [Landsmannschaften] among the Poseners and Prussians at all. [...] Who can recognise a Posener or Prussian by dialect and character? Distinct features hardly exist."<ref name="tilse">{{cite book |author=Mark Jonathan Breedon Tilse |title=Nations in synthesis: the ideology and practices of transnationalism in the Prussian East, 1871-1914 |type= Doctoral thesis |publisher=University of London |date=2008 |id=PQ ETD 591343 |page=63 }}</ref> While the north of East Prussia was overwhelmingly German, the south was majority Slavic and mostly composed of Poles and [[Masurians]]. There was also a slight Lithuanian majority in the north-eastern area of East Prussia, [[Lithuania Minor]].<ref name="polugodina">{{cite journal |author1=Maria Polugodina |author2=Theocharis Grigoriadis |title=East Prussia 2.0: Persistent Regions, Rising Nations |journal=Discussion Paper |publisher=Freie Universität Berlin |location=Berlin |date=2020 |volume=2020/8 |issue=1 |doi=10.17169/refubium-26889 |page=8 }}</ref> Regional and local identities were particularly strong in East Prussia - local Polish population often identified with Masuria rather than Poland, and Prussian Lithuanians also did not actively identify themselves with the Lithuanian nation.<ref>{{harvnb|Maria Polugodina|Theocharis Grigoriadis|2020|p=9}}</ref> Moreover, confessional identity often prevailed over the national one - German authorities were concerned about the "Catholic-Polish axis"; German Catholics were alienated from the German nation because of the [[Kulturkampf]] legislation, and tended to support the Polish national movement. An East German newspaper ''Thorner Zeitung'' reported in 1871 that "not only Polish Catholics, but also a great number of German Catholics, are willing to vote for a Polish party candidate".<ref>{{harvnb|Mark Jonathan Breedon Tilse|2008|pp=177–178}}</ref>

By the end of the 19th century, East Prussia had a significant Polish minority, and German nationalist circles warned of the prospect of [[Polonization]] of East Prussia.<ref name="srokowski">{{cite book |last1=Srokowski |first1=Stanisław |author-link=Stanisław Srokowski |title=East Prussia |publisher=The Baltic Pocket Library |location=Toruń |date=1934 |page=22 |url=https://kpbc.umk.pl/Content/248439/PDF/Gromadzenie_POPC_027_75.pdf |access-date=27 July 2023 |archive-date=27 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230727021352/https://kpbc.umk.pl/Content/248439/PDF/Gromadzenie_POPC_027_75.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The perceived weakness of Germanness of East Prussia was also reinforced by the [[Ostflucht]], as East Prussia suffered from both underindustrialisation and rural overpopulation. After 1876, farm prices in East Prussia fell by 20 percent, which encouraged local landowners to hire foreign workers from [[Congress Poland]], incidentally strengthening the Polish element in the region. The increased Slavic immigration to the region generated by the requirement of the [[Junker]]s for cheap labour and better economic conditions in West Germany caused many German inhabitants to leave the region.<ref>{{harvnb|Mark Jonathan Breedon Tilse|2008|p=42}}</ref> Most Germans moved to work in the industrial heartland of western Germany, while others migrated abroad. Poles and Lithuanians of East Prussia also had much higher birth-rate and natural increase rates than the Germans, and rarely emigrated.<ref name="Srokowski 1934 21–22">{{harvnb|Srokowski|1934|pp=21–22}}</ref> Discussing the situation in East Prussia, Polish geographer [[Stanisław Srokowski]] remarked:

{{Blockquote|text=The Poles who live in the southern and western parts of East Prussia and the Lithuanians of the north-west have succeeded better than the Germans in reconciling their mode of life with their earnings. This has, of course, led to a lower standard of life, but it has enabled them to adapt themselves to actual conditions and even to prosper where the Germans fail. Moreover, both these national minorities in East Prussia are bound to the soil by centuries of tradition: they are not comparative new-comers like the majority of the Germans there. For these reasons, the Poles and Lithuanians in that province hardly ever emigrate from the land of their birth, especially as the emigration in question is not so attractive for them as for the Germans: proceeding to central or western Germany, the former would really be going to a foreign country, amongst people not speaking their language and having other customs than theirs.<ref name="Srokowski 1934 21–22">{{harvnb|Srokowski|1934|pp=21–22}}</ref>}}

The Memel Territory ([[Klaipėda region]]), formerly part of northeastern East Prussia as well as Prussian Lithuania, was annexed by Lithuania in 1923. In 1938, Nazi Germany radically renamed about a third of the place names of this area, replacing [[Old Prussian language|Old Prussian]] and [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]] names with newly invented German names.

=== 20th century ===
====World War I and II====
[[File:Stallupönen, Ostpreußen - Goldaperstraße (Zeno Ansichtskarten).jpg|thumb|[[World War I]] destruction in Stallupönen, modern [[Nesterov]]]]
In September 1914, after hostilities began between the [[German Empire]] on the one hand and France and Russia on the other, the [[Imperial German Army]] was about to seize [[Paris]], and the French urged Russia to attack East Prussia. [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas II]] launched a major attack, resulting in a Russian victory in the [[Battle of Gumbinnen]]. The Russian army arrived at the outskirts of the city of Königsberg but did not take it and settled at [[Insterburg]]. This Russian victory and East Prussia's occupation by Russia saved Paris by forcing the Germans to send many troops to their East provinces.<ref name="auto">Roqueplo O: La Russie et son Miroir..., 2018</ref> Later, Hindenburg and Ludendorff pushed Russia back at the [[battle of Tannenberg]], thereby liberating East Prussia from Russian troops. Yet Russian troops remained in the easternmost part of the region until early 1915.<ref>Roqueplo O: La Russie et son miroir...2018</ref>

During World War II, the {{ill|Hohenbruch concentration camp|de|KZ Hohenbruch}} was operated at modern [[Gromovo, Kaliningrad Oblast|Gromovo]] mostly interring Polish prisoners, as well as several subcamps of the [[Stutthof concentration camp]], the Oflag 52, Oflag 60 and [[Dulag Luft]] [[German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II|prisoner-of-war camps]],<ref>{{cite book|last1=Megargee|first1=Geoffrey P.|last2=Overmans|first2=Rüdiger|last3=Vogt|first3=Wolfgang|year=2022|title=The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume IV|publisher=[[Indiana University Press]], [[United States Holocaust Memorial Museum]]|pages=128, 212, 217|isbn=978-0-253-06089-1}}</ref> and a camp interring [[Romani people]] in Königsberg (see ''[[Romani Holocaust]]'').<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=2284|title=Lager für Sinti und Roma Königsberg|website=Bundesarchiv.de|access-date=21 May 2024|language=de|archive-date=7 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907110709/https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=2284|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 29 August 1944, Soviet troops reached the border of East Prussia. By January 1945, they had taken all of East Prussia except for the area around Königsberg. Many inhabitants fled west at this time. During the last days of the war, over two million people fled, anticipating imminent [[Red Army]] conquest, and were [[Evacuation of East Prussia|evacuated by sea]].

==== Soviet annexation ====
Initially, at the end of World War II in 1945, the current southern border strip passed under Polish control with Polish administration organized in the towns of [[Gierdawy]] and [[Bagrationovsk|Iławka]], however, the area was eventually annexed by the Soviet Union and included within the Kaliningrad Oblast.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Eberhardt|first=Piotr|year=2018|title=Kwestia podziału Prus Wschodnich w okresie II wojny światowej|journal=Przegląd Geograficzny|language=pl|volume=90|issue=4|page=610|doi=10.7163/PrzG.2018.4.4 |issn=0033-2143|url=https://rcin.org.pl/dlibra/docmetadata?showContent=true&id=68042 }}</ref>

Under the [[Potsdam Agreement]] of 1 August 1945, Königsberg became part of the Soviet Union pending the final determination of territorial borders at an anticipated peace settlement. This final determination eventually took place on 12 September 1990 when the [[Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany]] was signed. The excerpt from the initial agreement pertaining to the partition of East Prussia, including the area surrounding Königsberg, is as follows (note that Königsberg is spelt "Koenigsberg" in the original document):

<blockquote>'''VI. CITY OF KOENIGSBERG AND THE ADJACENT AREA'''<br />The Conference examined a proposal by the [[Politics of the Soviet Union|Soviet Government]] that pending the final determination of territorial questions at the peace settlement, the section of the western frontier of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics which is adjacent to the Baltic Sea should pass from a point on the eastern shore of the [[Gdańsk Bay|Bay of Danzig]] to the east, north of [[Braniewo|Braunsberg]]&nbsp;– [[Gołdap|Goldep]], to the meeting point of the frontiers of [[Lithuania]], the [[Poland|Polish Republic]] and [[East Prussia]].

The Conference has agreed in principle to the proposal of the Soviet Government concerning the ultimate transfer to the Soviet Union of the city of Koenigsberg and the area adjacent to it as described above, subject to expert examination of the actual frontier.

U.S. president [[Harry Truman]] and British prime minister [[Clement Attlee]] supported the proposal of the Conference at the forthcoming peace settlement.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/policy/1945/450802a.html|title=The Potsdam Declaration|access-date=April 2, 2009|archive-date=21 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210221123957/http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/policy/1945/450802a.html|url-status=live}}</ref></blockquote>

[[File:Памятник Калинину.jpg|thumb|upright|The monument to Kalinin on the [[Kalinin Square]], built in 1959]]
In 1946, Königsberg was added as a [[enclave and exclave|semi-exclave]] to the [[Russian SFSR]] and renamed Kaliningrad, after the [[Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet]] of the USSR [[Mikhail Kalinin]]. Kalinin was unrelated to the city, and there were already cities named in honour of Kalinin in the Soviet Union, namely ''Kalinin'' (now Tver) and ''Kaliningrad'' (now [[Korolev, Moscow Oblast]]).<ref>[https://www.klgd.ru/city/history/almanac/a5_4.php Кёнигсберг мог стать Балтийском.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201084522/https://www.klgd.ru/city/history/almanac/a5_4.php |date=1 February 2022 }} // klgd.ru</ref><ref>[https://www.klgd.ru/city/history/almanac/a8_5.php Кёнигсберг-Калининград. Поиск самоидентификации.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106035920/https://www.klgd.ru/city/history/almanac/a8_5.php |date=6 November 2018 }} // klgd.ru</ref> The German language was replaced with the Russian language, and the remaining German population was [[Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–50)|expelled]] between 1947 and 1948. The territory was then re-populated with [[Soviet people|Soviet citizens]], mostly ethnic Russians but to a lesser extent also Ukrainians and Belarusians.<ref name="Milan Bufon 2014 97">{{cite book|author=Milan Bufon|title=The New European Frontiers: Social and Spatial (Re)Integration Issues in Multicultural and Border Regions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GpoxBwAAQBAJ&q=kaliningrad&pg=PA97|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing|page=98|isbn=978-1-4438-5936-3|date=11 April 2014}}</ref>

Some historians{{Who|date=August 2024}} speculate that it may have originally been offered to the [[Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic|Lithuanian SSR]] because the resolution from the conference specifies that Kaliningrad's border would be at the (pre-war) Lithuanian frontier. According to some historians{{Who|date=August 2024}}, [[Joseph Stalin]] created it as an oblast separate from the [[Lithuanian SSR]] because it further separated the Baltic states from the West.<ref>{{cite book|last=Weinberg|first=Gerhard L.|title=Visions of Victory: The hopes of eight World War II leaders|url=https://archive.org/details/visionsofvictory00wein|url-access=registration|year=2005|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-85254-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/visionsofvictory00wein/page/114 114]}}</ref> Others think that the reason was that the region was far too strategic for the USSR to leave it in the hands of another SSR other than the Russian one.<ref name="autogenerated1">Roqueplo O: La Russie et son miroir d'Extrême-Occident, 2018</ref> In the 1950s, [[Nikita Khrushchev]] offered the entire Kaliningrad Oblast to the Lithuanian SSR but [[Antanas Sniečkus]] refused to accept the territory because it would add at least a million ethnic Russians to Lithuania proper.<ref name="Milan Bufon 2014 97" /><ref>{{cite book |title=The Kaliningrad Question |first=Richard J. |last=Krickus |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sDOUZEEnHFUC |via=[[Google Books]] |isbn=978-0-7425-1705-9 |year=2002 |publication-place=Lanham, Maryland, United States |page=39 |chapter=2. Kaliningrad under Soviet and Russian Rule |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sDOUZEEnHFUC&pg=PA39 }}</ref>

[[File:Königsberger schloss schlossturm sprengung 1959.tif|thumb|left|Demolition of the [[Königsberg Castle]] with explosives, 1959. The last remnants were destroyed by 1968.]]In the Soviet era, the city was [[Closed city|completely closed]] and, with the exception of rare visits of friendship from neighboring Poland, it was practically not visited by foreigners.<ref>[http://window.edu.ru/window/library/pdf2txt?p_id=5810 Социально-экономическая география Балтийского региона.] // window.edu.ru</ref><ref>[http://www.newkaliningrad.ru/news/politics/k95640.html Калининград: От реликта России до процветающего города Прибалтики («The Independent», Великобритания).] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827151959/http://www.newkaliningrad.ru/news/politics/k95640.html|date=27 August 2016}} // newkaliningrad.ru</ref> In 1950, there were 1,165,000 inhabitants, which was only half the number of the pre-war population. The old city was not restored, and the ruins of the [[Königsberg Castle]] were demolished in the late 1960s,<ref name="NG">{{Cite web |url=http://www.ng.ru/regions/2008-11-11/100_zamok.html |title=Калининградские руины еще немного подождут |first=Alexander |last=Ryabushev |website=ng.ru |date=November 11, 2008 |access-date=March 19, 2020 |language=ru |archive-date=18 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090218011251/http://www.ng.ru/regions/2008-11-11/100_zamok.html |url-status=live }}</ref> on [[Leonid Brezhnev]]'s personal orders,<ref name="NG" /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Artamonova |first1=Alexandra |title=Raze and rebuild: Kaliningrad's battle to preserve its complex post-war cityscape |url=https://www.calvertjournal.com/features/show/10130/beyond-the-game-kaliningrad-architecture |publisher=The Calvert Journal |access-date=5 January 2021 |date=7 June 2018 |archive-date=8 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230508090334/https://www.calvertjournal.com/features/show/10130/beyond-the-game-kaliningrad-architecture |url-status=live }}</ref> despite the protests of architects, historians and residents of the city.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.archikld.ru/publications_3_56 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20120730023356/http://www.archikld.ru/publications_3_56 |url-status = dead |archive-date = 30 July 2012 |title = Калининградская архитектура. }} // archikld.ru</ref><ref>[https://www.klgd.ru/city/history/almanac/a2_1.php О восстановлении послевоенного Калининграда 1946—1953 гг.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925103426/https://www.klgd.ru/city/history/almanac/a2_1.php |date=25 September 2020 }} klgd.ru</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Андрей Павлович Клемешев |author2=Калининградский государственный университет |script-title=ru:На перекрёстке культур: русские в Балтийском регионе. Выпуск 7. Часть 2 |date=2004 |publisher=КГУ |pages=206–207}}{{clarify|reason=is this really a book?|date=March 2024}}</ref> 

The reconstruction of the oblast, threatened by hunger in the immediate post-war years, was carried out through an ambitious policy of oceanic fishing<ref>Roqueplo O: La Russie et son Miroir d'Extrême-Occident, Langues'O, HAL, 2018</ref> with the creation of one of the main fishing harbours of the USSR in Kaliningrad city. Fishing not only fed the regional economy but also was a basis for social and scientific development, in particular oceanography.<ref name="autogenerated1" /> From 1953 to 1962, a monument to Stalin stood on Victory Square. In 1973, the town hall was turned into the House of Soviets. In 1975, the trolleybus was launched again. In 1980, a concert hall was opened in the building of the former Lutheran Church of the Holy Family. In 1986, the Kreuzkirche building was transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church.

In 1957, an agreement was signed and later came into force which delimited the border between the [[Polish People's Republic]] (a Soviet [[satellite state]] at the time) and the Soviet Union.<ref>{{cite web |title=Russia (USSR) / Poland Treaty (with annexed maps) concerning the Demarcation of the Existing Soviet–Polish State Frontier in the Sector Adjoining the Baltic Sea 5 March 1957 |url=https://www.un.org/Depts/los/LEGISLATIONANDTREATIES/PDFFILES/TREATIES/RUS-POL1957SF.PDF |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127095055/https://www.un.org/Depts/los/LEGISLATIONANDTREATIES/PDFFILES/TREATIES/RUS-POL1957SF.PDF |archive-date=27 November 2020 |access-date=2 April 2009}}</ref><ref>For other issues of the frontier [[delimitation]] see {{cite web |title=Maritime boundary delimitation agreements and other material |url=https://www.un.org/Depts/los/LEGISLATIONANDTREATIES/STATEFILES/POL.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231115090449/http://www.un.org/depts/los/LEGISLATIONANDTREATIES/STATEFILES/POL.htm |archive-date=15 November 2023 |access-date=2 April 2009}}</ref>

In 2010, the German magazine ''[[Der Spiegel]]'' published a report claiming that Kaliningrad had been offered to Germany in 1990 (against payment). The offer was not seriously considered by the West German government which, at the time, saw reunification with East Germany as a higher priority.<ref>{{cite web |last=Wiegrefe |first=Klaus |date=22 May 2010 |title=Zeitgeschichte: Historischer Ballast |work=[[Der Spiegel]] |archive-date=14 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014130823/http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-70569479.html |url=http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-70569479.html |language=German |trans-title=Contemporary History: Historical Ballast |publication-place=Hamburg, Germany |issn=2195-1349 |publisher=Spiegel-Berlag |editor1-first=Mathias |editor1-last=Müller von Blumencron |editor2-first=Georg |editor2-last=Mascolo }}</ref> However, this story was later denied by [[Mikhail Gorbachev]].<ref>{{cite web |work=[[The Guardian]] |archive-date=6 February 2021 |editor-first=Alan |editor-last=Rusbridger |editor-link=Alan Rusbridger |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206033943/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/jul/31/kalingrad-kant-home-return-german |publication-place=London, England, United Kingdom |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/jul/31/kalingrad-kant-home-return-german |issn=1756-3224 |oclc=60623878 |title=Should Kant's home once again be German? |first=Stefan |last=Berger |date=31 July 2010 }}</ref>

===Recent history===
{{Further|Kaliningrad question}}
{{See also|Restrictions on transit to Kaliningrad Oblast}}
[[File:Kaliningrad 05-2017 img04 Kant Island.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Königsberg Cathedral]], restored in the 1990s<ref name=fw/>]]
The [[Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania|independence of Lithuania]] in 1990 and full [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] in 1991 isolated Kaliningrad from the rest of Russia, having previously been joined by other Soviet republics. This isolation became more severe when both Poland and Lithuania joined [[NATO]] and [[Enlargement of the European Union|the European Union]] and imposed strict border controls on Kaliningrad Oblast. All military and civilian land links between the region and the rest of Russia now must pass through members of NATO and the EU. Thus far, the EU has rejected Russian proposals for visa-free travel between Kaliningrad and the rest of Russia. Travel arrangements based on the ''Facilitated Transit Document (FTD)'' and ''Facilitated Rail Transit Document (FRTD)'' have been made.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.euro.lt/en/lithuanias-membership-in-the-eu/transit-from-to-kaliningrad-region/
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091101002356/http://www.euro.lt/en/lithuanias-membership-in-the-eu/transit-from-to-kaliningrad-region/|title=Transit from/to Kaliningrad Region, www.euro.lt|archive-date=1 November 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2003:099:0008:0008:EN:PDF|website=eur-lex.europa.eu|title=European Union Law|access-date=25 May 2009|archive-date=22 September 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090922150755/http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2003:099:0008:0008:EN:PDF}}</ref> Kaliningrad Oblast's geographic isolation has badly affected its economic situation. Concurrent significant reduction in the size of the Russian military garrison has hurt as well, since previously the military was a major local employer.
[[File:Königsberg-Erlöserkirche03.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (Kaliningrad)|Cathedral of Christ the Saviour]] in [[Kaliningrad]]. The church's architect is Oleg Kopylov, and it was completed in September 2006.]]

Some of the region's cultural heritage, most notably the [[Königsberg Cathedral]], was restored in the 1990s, as citizens started to examine previously ignored German past.<ref name=fw>{{cite news|last1=Weir|first1=Fred|title=Living on Prussia's ruins, Kaliningraders embrace Germanic past|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2015/0726/Living-on-Prussia-s-ruins-Kaliningraders-embrace-Germanic-past|access-date=25 July 2017|publisher=Christian Science Monitor|date=July 26, 2015|archive-date=9 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109144557/https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2015/0726/Living-on-Prussia-s-ruins-Kaliningraders-embrace-Germanic-past|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 12 January 1996, Kaliningrad Oblast and [[Sverdlovsk Oblast]] became the first oblasts of Russia to sign a power-sharing treaty with the federal government, granting them autonomy. However, this agreement was abolished on 31 May 2002.<ref name="demokratiztsiya">{{Cite journal|last=Chuman|first=Mizuki|title=The Rise and Fall of Power-Sharing Treaties Between Center and Regions in Post-Soviet Russia|url=http://demokratizatsiya.pub/archives/19_2_L7H017206G216817.pdf|journal=Demokratizatsiya|page=146|access-date=3 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190308002915/http://demokratizatsiya.pub/archives/19_2_L7H017206G216817.pdf|archive-date=8 March 2019}}</ref>

[[File:Germans by federal subject 2010.svg|thumb|right|330px|Distribution of Germans in Russia, 2010, demonstrating the higher German presence in the Kaliningrad Oblast compared to other areas in European Russia]]
After 1991, some ethnic Germans emigrated to the area, such as [[Volga Germans]] from other parts of Russia and [[Kazakhstan]]. These Germans are overwhelmingly Russian-speaking and as such were rejected for resettlement within Germany under Germany's new rules. A similar migration by [[Poles in Kaliningrad|Poles]] from the lands of the former [[Poles in the Soviet Union|Soviet Union]] to the Kaliningrad Oblast occurred at this time as well. The situation has begun to change, albeit slowly. Germany, Lithuania, and Poland have renewed contact with Kaliningrad Oblast, through [[town twinning]] and other projects. This has helped to promote interest in the history and culture of the East Prussian and Lietuvininkai communities.

In July 2007, [[First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia|Russian First Deputy Prime Minister]] [[Sergei Ivanov]] declared that if US-controlled [[missile defense]] systems were deployed in Poland, then nuclear weapons might be deployed in Kaliningrad. On 5 November 2008, Russian president [[Dmitry Medvedev]] said that installing missiles in Kaliningrad was almost a certainty.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081105/ap_on_re_eu/eu_russia_medvedev|title="Medvedev Says Russia to Deploy Missiles Near Poland" Associated Press via Yahoo News}}</ref> These plans were suspended in January 2009,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jan/28/russia-missiles-kaliningrad-obama|title=Russia scraps plan to deploy nuclear-capable missiles in Kaliningrad|first=Luke|last=Harding|date=28 January 2009|via=www.theguardian.com|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=12 December 2016|archive-date=16 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240116212911/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jan/28/russia-missiles-kaliningrad-obama|url-status=live}}</ref> but implemented in October 2016.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37597075|title=Russia moves missiles to Kaliningrad|date=9 October 2016|work=BBC News|access-date=21 June 2018|archive-date=1 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180601053554/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37597075|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2011, a long-range [[Voronezh radar]] was commissioned to monitor missile launches within about {{cvt|6,000|km}}. The radar is situated in the settlement of [[Pionersky, Kaliningrad Oblast|Pionersky]] in Kaliningrad Oblast.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.pravda.ru/russia/politics/28-11-2011/119757-russia_radar_europe-0/|title=Russia's new radar to monitor all Europe including Britain|first=Dmitry|last=Sudakov|date=28 November 2011|access-date=10 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224113624/http://english.pravda.ru/russia/politics/28-11-2011/119757-russia_radar_europe-0/|archive-date=24 December 2013}}</ref>

A few months after the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]], Lithuania [[Restrictions on transit to Kaliningrad Oblast|started implementing EU sanctions]], which blocked about 50% of the goods being imported into Kaliningrad by rail. Food, medicine, and passenger travel were exempted. Russia protested against the sanctions and announced it would increase shipments by sea.<ref>{{cite web |title=Russia's territory in Europe is the latest source of Ukraine war tensions |date=2022-06-23 |website=[[Vox (website)|Vox]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409035144/https://www.vox.com/2022/6/23/23179942/russian-kaliningrad-europe-ukraine-war-tension |archive-date=2023-04-09 |url-status=live |url=https://www.vox.com/2022/6/23/23179942/russian-kaliningrad-europe-ukraine-war-tension}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2022/06/23/inside-kaliningrad-russian-exclave-at-the-centre-of-ukraine-war-sanctions-row |title=Inside Kaliningrad, Russian exclave at the centre of Ukraine war sanctions row |date=23 June 2022 |access-date=24 June 2022 |archive-date=24 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220624082051/https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2022/06/23/inside-kaliningrad-russian-exclave-at-the-centre-of-ukraine-war-sanctions-row |url-status=live }}</ref> In May 2023, Poland officially adopted a new name for the Kaliningrad region, changing it from "Obwód Kaliningradzki" to "Obwód Królewiecki", ''Królewiec'' being the historical Polish name for the city of Kaliningrad. The reason given for the change is that [[Mikhail Kalinin]], a member of the [[Soviet Politburo]], was among those responsible for the [[Katyn massacre]], having co-signed the order to murder thousands of Polish prisoners of war.<ref>{{Cite web |title=125. posiedzenie Komisji Standaryzacji Nazw Geograficznych poza Granicami RP - Komisja Standaryzacji Nazw Geograficznych poza Granicami Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej - Portal Gov.pl |url=https://www.gov.pl/web/ksng/125-posiedzenie-komisji-standaryzacji-nazw-geograficznych-poza-granicami-rp |access-date=2024-03-04 |website=Komisja Standaryzacji Nazw Geograficznych poza Granicami Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej |language=pl-PL |archive-date=9 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230509192120/https://www.gov.pl/web/ksng/125-posiedzenie-komisji-standaryzacji-nazw-geograficznych-poza-granicami-rp |url-status=live }}</ref>