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Kaliningrad OblastKaliningrad Oblast (Russian: Калининградская область), informally called Yantarny kray (Russian:Янтарный Край - meaning Amber land) is an administrative division (oblast) of Russia on the Baltic coast, with no land connection to the rest of Russia: an exclave. It is the westernmost parcel of land belonging to Russia, separated from the rest of Russia by Lithuania, Belarus and Latvia. Its largest city is Kaliningrad (formerly Knigsberg), which has historical significance as both a major city of Prussia and the capital of the former German province East Prussia, of which the region remains the core remnant. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 the oblast has been an exclave, being surrounded by other countries: Poland to the south and Lithuania to the east. Since 2004 this isolation is exacerbated by the fact that, unlike Russia, these two countries are members of the European Union and NATO. History Before 1945, what is now Kaliningrad Oblast made up the northern part of East Prussia from the Baltic Sea to the east up to Lithuania and north of today's Poland. The area around the city of Kaliningrad was completely sealed off for fifty years because the Soviet Union had built huge military installations there and used the harbor as a year round port—it was one of the few Soviet ports on the Baltic which was operable in winter-time. With the fall of the Iron Curtain, the enormity of the installations and the sheer magnitude of the environmental destruction has been exposed. In the days before the Iron Curtain came down, US television showed news reports from the Soviet Union. These reporters filmed a vast area of land filled with military equipment around the harbor of Kaliningrad. They showed the train depot and the dozens of trains that were sitting there, idled for weeks or months, filled with materials, all spoiled -- evidence of an earlier, massive Soviet military build-up and subsequent total breakdown. The scenes were a stark contrast to the former picture of Knigsberg, the city of Immanuel Kant and the city of kings. As the Russian reporters intended, this showed the real state of the Soviet Union, at that time still portrayed by the CIA as a mighty enemy of the USA. Since 1991 about 12,000 ethnic Germans from other parts of Russia have attempted to settle in the Kaliningrad oblast, but have mostly re-emigrated to Germany after just a few months. As of 2003, just 0.2% of the oblast's population are ethnic Germans. On 1 May 2004 a "paper curtain" descended around Kaliningrad Oblast as its neighbours on all sides joined the European Union resulting in increased restrictions in crossing the border. Kaliningraders, like all citizens of Russia, now need visas to enter the neighbouring countries of Poland and Lithuania. If they wish to travel to the rest of Russia over land without a visa, they need to apply for permission from the Lithuanian embassy at least a day in advance before being allowed to board a sealed train to Russia. Administrative division Districts Kaliningrad Oblast consists of the following districts (Russian: районы): Cities and towns Main article: List of cities of Kaliningrad Oblast The territory also includes the following towns (old names in italics in German, Polish, and Lithuanian): - Baltiysk (Pillau, Piława, Piliava)
- Gvardeisk (Tapiau, Tapiawa, Tepliava)
- Znamensk (Wehlau, Welawa, Veluva)
- Slavsk (Heinrichswalde, Jedrzychowo, Gastos)
- Chernyakhovsk (Insterburg, Wystruć, Isrutis)
- Gusev (Gumbinnen, Gąbin, Gumbinė)
- Sovetsk (Tilsit, Tylża, Tilžė)
- Mamonovo (Heiligenbeil, Święta Siekierka, Šventapilis)
- Bagrationovsk (Preussisch Eylau, Iława Pruska, Prusų Yluva)
- Druzhba (Allenburg, Alembork, Alna)
- Zheleznodorozhny (Gerdauen, Gierdawy, Girdava )
- Primorsk (Fischhausen, Rybaki, Žuvininkai)
- Ozyorsk (Darkehmen, Darkiejmy, Angerapp)
- Krasnolesye (Gross Rominten, Rominty, Raminta)
- Yasnaya Polyana (Trakehnen, Trakėnai)
- Krasnoznamensk (Lasdehen, Haselberg, Lazdėnai)
- Kalinino (Mehlkehmen, Birkenmuehle, Mielkiemis)
- Chekhovo (Uderwangen, Udravangis)
- Dobrovolsk (Pillkallen, Pilkalnis)
- Kamenskoe (Saalau, Zelva)
- Krylovo (Nordenburg, Asvenai)
- Mayovka (Georgenburg, Sparge, Jurbarkas)
- Neman (Ragnit, Ragneta, Ragainė)
- Nesterov (Stallupoenen, Stalupėnai)
- Polessk (Labiau, Labiawa, Labguva)
- Pravdinsk (Friedland, Romuva)
- Ushakovo (Brandenburg)
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