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| 1 |
ID:
090924
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| Publication |
2009.
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| Summary/Abstract |
The Kaliningrad region has developed from being a military bastion of the Soviet Union threatening the West to being an exposed Russian exclave with much reduced forces mainly serving defensive functions. Russia strongly resisted NATO's enlargement and encirclement of Kaliningrad, but had to accept it as Russia was weak and could not stop it. When Russia became stronger under Putin, Kaliningrad was again brought under central control and the conditions in the Baltic Fleet were improved. The protection of Russia's sea communications and of its energy exports became the most important tasks apart from defending the region. However, as an effect of the war in Georgia and the US base agreement with Poland in 2008, Russia threatened to use Kaliningrad as a staging area for new Russian missiles, and the problem of military transit across Lithuania was again exacerbated. At the same time the global financial crisis hit Russia. Kaliningrad well reflects the ups and down in Russian relations with the West in this part of Europe.
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| 2 |
ID:
147286
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| Summary/Abstract |
After Poland’s accession to the EU, the Polish-Russian border became the EU external border. This significantly changed its nature and started the new type of cross border relation. Since 2012, when the Small Border Traffic (SBT) zone came into force, the border has changed its blockade function and started instead to be treated as a resource. The fundamental loosening of the border crossing regime reduced the social and functional distance between Poland and Kaliningrad, and in a broader sense between EU and Kaliningrad. This paper will try to show how small but meaningful initiative, the SBT, has had an impact on cross-border region. The present paper will describe the relationship between larger geopolitical actors and how they affect local border relations. The aim of this paper is to present phenomenon of new visa regime at the Polish-Russian border. The paper likewise describes the impact of the SBT on local communities and their economies, as well as national relations between adjacent countries. The analysis is based on the interviews and surveys conducted in the Polish-Russian border region in late 2014.
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