Kaliningrad - the European amber region

This text is about Kaliningrad, located in the south-eastern corner of the Eastern Balti Sea-board, where it has a degree of remoteness, marginality and dependency. The region's geographic detatchment from mainland Russia and its wedged position between Lithuania and Poland have produced rather traditional debates. These pertain to Russia's sovereignty and its territorial integrity, also to some less conventional themes such as regionalism and the devolvement of power in Russia - including the relationship between Moscow as the centre and Kaliningrad as a periphery. There is much in the region that culturally, politically or economically remains firmly hooked in the past while at the same time it is more exposed to European trends than the rest of Russia.