Kaliningrad, a Russian island in the enlarged EU… Since Lithuania joined the EU it has been impossible to travel between the exclave and the rest of Russia over land without crossing the territory of at least one EU state. There has been friction, particularly with Lithuania, over transit regulations.

Koenigsberg, as the city of Kaliningrad was once known, was founded by Teutonic knights in the 13th century. It became one of the cities of the Hanseatic League and was once the capital of Prussia. The philosopher Immanuel Kant spent all his life in the city and died there in 1804.

The Teutonic Order used Königsberg as a base for campaigns against pagan Lithuania. 

Königsberg was the capital of Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1701 when the capital was moved to Berlin. During the period from 1701 until 1945 it was the regional capital of the Prussian (and from 1871, German) province of East Prussia. “Polish Corridor”: After the First World War, Poland was to be re-established as an independent country. Giving Poland access to the sea was one of the guarantees proposed by United States President Woodrow Wilson.

During World War II Königsberg was heavily damaged by Allied bombing in 1944 and during its siege in 1945. The city was captured and annexed by the Soviet Union, its German population completely expelled, and it was repopulated with Russians. It was renamed "Kaliningrad" in 1946 in honour of the Soviet leader Mikhail Kalinin. As one of the westernmost territories of the Soviet Union, Kaliningrad became a strategically important area during the Cold War. Because of its strategic importance, Kaliningrad was closed to foreign visitors.

Kaliningrad is still of great strategic importance to Moscow. It houses the Russian Baltic Fleet and is the country's only ice-free European port. The region began to see increasing trade with the countries of the EU as well as increasing economic growth and rising industrial output.

HISTORY OF POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC THOUGHT

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