2010 Issue №2(4)

The Kaliningrad region, being an exclave, needs an updated regional development strategy based on the national strategy of modernisation and innovation-based development and, at the same time, taking into account the geopolitical aspect. It is necessary to proceed with the implementation of large-scale projects that stimulate the development of both the regional economy and form cross-industry clusters including large, medium, and small enterprises. The region should become an increasingly important "development corridor" between Russian regions and the EU states situated on the Baltic Sea

This article analyses the causes of the economic decline in the Kaliningrad region in 2008—2009, which was sharper than the Russian average. The author suggests a number of measures aimed to mitigate the consequences of the crisis, expedite its termination, facilitate the return of economic growth and find solutions to social problems

After the World War II, the part of East Prussia taken by the Soviet Union was transformed into a gigantic Soviet military base. It performed the functions of the outpost in the West on the one hand; and on the other hand, of the barrier which helped the USSR to ensure the dependence of the Eastern Baltics and domination in Poland. After the Cold War, Kaliningrad Oblast, a territory of 15,000 square metres with a population of nearly one million people, owned by the Russian Federation and located the farthest to the West, although on the Baltic Sea, ashore became isolated from the motherland and turned into an exclave. Gradually the exclave found itself first at the crossroads of different security structures and later — surrounded by one of them. Changes in the situation gave rise to the so-called Kaliningrad discourse, i. e. political decisions, academic discussions and research, influenced by the internal transformation in the USSR and the Russian Federation (RF) as well as slips in the international policies of Central and Eastern Europe.

This article is dedicated to the EU strategy for the Baltic Sea region approved by the European Commission in October 2009. The Strategy expresses the intention to strengthen regionalisation in the framework of the EU. It distinguishes the Baltic region as an independent priority target of the complex strategy for the EU development and gives an additional incentive to the resolution of the problems related to the formation of this macroregion.

The article describes the motives, objectives and findings of preparing a perspective for territorial development of the Baltic Sea Region and discusses issues related to its implementation. Particular attention is paid to Northwest Russia and Kaliningrad region. Promoting innovation clusters, metropolitan networks and urban-rural partnerships, improving accessibility as well as enhancing maritime spatial planning and management are key issues to be solved in transnational cooperation

This interview with two former special presidential representatives for the Kaliningrad region (Dmitry Rogozin, representing the Russian party and Gediminas Kirkilas, representing the Lithuanian party) recounts the EU-Russia negotiations on the Kaliningrad region and the enlargement of the European Union in the early 2000s. The interview provides an important assessment of the negotiations and their results and explains for the first time the role of individual European states and politicians in the 'Kaliningrad issue'. These facts allow the reader to understand and compare two different — Russian and Lithuanian — points of view

The main goal of this article is to analyse the political risk of Russia with a special emphasis on Kaliningrad. In this study, political risks are assessed using the normative model of macro political risk assessment developed by Alon and Martin in 1998. In this model, political risks are divided into government-, society- and economy-related variables.

This article consists of a series of short essays dedicated to a certain period of the 'popular' socioeconomic history (with a particular focus on the institutional development problems) of the former East Prussia from Antiquity to present days. The authors tackle the issues of the economic history of amber, the role of the Hansa League in the development of medieval trade, the QWERTY-effects in the rail gauge standards, and the peculiarities of the development of the Kaliningrad region in the post-Soviet period

This article considers the problematic issue of the prehistory of the Kaliningrad region. The author analyses different approaches to the periodisation of the East Prussian offensive, delimits the periods of its stages and determines the date of the termination of the operation.

This article presents the results of a sociological research on national and supranational (civilizational) identity of the Pskov region population conducted in 1999—2010. The Pskov region is the only European region of Russia that shares borders with three states, two of which are members of the EU. The author defines the areas of the neighbouring countries' sociocultural influence on the lives of the border territory population. The article also describes the existing stereotypes about Russia and the neighbouring countries as well as the influence of frequent trips to these countries on the attitude towards them. The assessment of the EU-Russia cooperation prospects by the Pskov region population is presented in comparison to the results of a similar research conducted in the Kaliningrad region.

This article examines solutions to the environmental problems of the Baltic Sea in the Kaliningrad region. The authors focus on the implementation of the HELCOM recommendation, which stipulates the elimination of all sources of eutrophication (the so-called hot spots) as well as the construction of modern waste water treatment facilities. The study is based on the interviews with local experts and the analysis of regulatory documents

This article combines two approaches to the analysis of the appearance and territorial structure of Kaliningrad. One approach is based on the field study, the other — on the examination of documents. The former helped define a number of integral regions that were later considered from a historical point of view in order to figure out how the territorial structure and appearance of the city changed in the transition from the German to the Soviet and post-Soviet periods.

This article presents an analytical review of the programmes of the registered candidates for the position of the President of Poland in the presidential campaign of 2010. The article mainly focuses on the relevant players and the formation of centers of influence in the electoral campaign.