Editing Kaliningrad Oblast (section)

===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>