Kaliningrad Oblast

Kaliningrad Oblast (Russian: Калинингра́дская о́бласть, Kaliningradskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) on the Baltic coast. It has a population of 941,873 (2010 Census).

The oblast forms the most western part of Russia, but it has no land connection to the rest of the country. Since its creation, it has been an exclave of the Russian SFSR and then of the Russian Federation. The fall of the Soviet Union left it isolated. It is surrounded by Poland, Lithuania, and the Baltic Sea. Visa-free travel to the main part of Russia is only possible by sea or air. This political isolation became more pronounced when Lithuania and Poland both became members of the European Union and NATO, as well as entering the Schengen Zone, which means that the oblast is surrounded by territories affiliated with these institutions as well.

The oblast's largest city and administrative center is Kaliningrad (formerly known as Königsberg), which has historical significance as both a major city of the historical state of Prussia and the capital of the former German province of East Prussia. After World War II, East Prussia was divided between the USSR and Poland, and Königsberg was renamed after the Soviet Head of State Mikhail Kalinin.

The territory of the Kaliningrad Oblast coincides with that of the northern part of historical East Prussia (German: Nord-Ostpreussen), which was an exclave of Germany from World War I until 1945. In that year, it was occupied by the Soviet Union and annexed according to the Potsdam Agreement. It was attached to the Russian SFSR. Most of its German population fled to the "mainland" of Germany during the war. The rest were expelled from 1945 to 1950. Russian settlers moved in, and the population has been Russian ever since.

Currently it is one of Russia's best performing regional economies, bolstered by a low manufacturing tax rate, as set by its "Special Economic Zone" status, which was issued by Moscow. As of 2006, one in three televisions in Russia are made in Kaliningrad. Its population is one of the few in Russia which is expected to show strong growth.