A Detached Russian Landmass

Leo Dong -

Have you ever looked at Google Maps and wondered about that parcel of land which, when zoomed in, never appears with a country’s name?

Well, it’s in Kaliningrad Oblast[1], one of the 85 states of Russia. You see the issue here, right? It is non-contiguous with the rest of Russia.

Essentially, during the period of the USSR, it was deemed separate from the Lithuanian Oblast because of its strategic importance as a buffer against Western Europe[2]. However, after the fall of the USSR, when neighbouring Lithuania gained independence, the land remained part of the Russian Federation. Since it is one of the only warm-water ports[3] in (or rather, out of) Russia, it holds particular military significance.

More information can be seen here.

  1. Essentially meaning “state”. ↩︎

  2. At least according to a Russian source cited without a link on Wikipedia; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaliningrad#cite_note-autogenerated1-43. ↩︎

  3. A port that doesn’t freeze over in winter ↩︎