KaliningradAs an enclave of Russia, it has been inserted into the heart of NATO like a steel knife. But if Kaliningrad, which is surrounded by NATO countries, is blocked by its two neighboring countries, Lithuania and Poland , what should Russia do?
Kaliningrad is 360 kilometers away from the Russian mainland. Its strategic position can be imagined. However, because it is not connected with Russia, it has also become a major pain point in Russia's development of Kaliningrad. So faced with this pain point, does Russia have a solution?
Kaliningrad Oblast , located on the Baltic Sea, is the largest enclave in Russia and is not connected to Russia. Even its area is only 15,100 square kilometers and can hardly be seen on the map, but its geographical location and its Its strategic value is indeed immeasurable and it is the strategic gateway to the west of Russia.
From the map, Kaliningrad is surrounded by Poland and Lithuania, and it is so far away from Russia. If you want to enter Kaliningrad from Russia, you must go through Belarus and enter from Lithuania or Poland. In normal times, Perhaps these two countries can still allow Russia to pass through their territory, but if the relationship between them is tense, that may not necessarily be the case.
How did a piece of land so far away become a Russian enclave? In fact, before World War II, this place was called Königsberg, and it was once the capital of East Prussia. According to the saying at the time, it was still the land of Germany, which is where Germany emerged now. But in 1945, after World War II, Königsberg was occupied by the Soviet Union and became a state of the Soviet Union. It was later renamed Kaliningrad.
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Kaliningrad was neither independent nor assigned to other countries. Instead, it was inherited by Russia. Although it was no longer bordering Russia, it became an enclave of Russia. But this place has excellent strategic significance. For Russia, it can play a great role on the battlefield if it goes to war.
In order to allow Kaliningrad to play its due role, after Russia took over, it built Kaliningrad into a strong fortress, built a large number of ports and terminals locally, and also deployed them here Baltic Fleet .
Russia attaches great importance to the importance of an enclave. Therefore, for the security here and to have sufficient response capabilities in wartime, Russia has built a large number of airports here and deployed a large number of fighter planes. Even in some There are also tactical missiles and anti-aircraft missiles that can carry nuclear warheads .
In other words, although Russia is relatively far from western Europe, if the missile is launched from Kaliningrad, it can cover the entire Europe. Therefore, the importance of Kaliningrad is self-evident. But Kaliningrad also has a weakness, that is, it is far away from Russia, and the transportation of supplies and materials is very difficult. Especially after Lithuania and Poland blocked land transportation, Russian land transportation such as cars or trains was completely cut off. What should Russia do?
At this time, Russia can only transport goods by sea or air through the Baltic Sea. After all, most of this large sea area is high seas, which has become Russia's best choice after the blockade of Kaliningrad.
But there is a very important problem, that is, the Baltic Sea does not freeze all year round like other sea areas. The Baltic Sea has a freezing period for several months every year. This is not a good thing for Russia, so it can only choose when it freezes. Air transportation, but for the transportation of large amounts of materials, air transportation is not only time-consuming, but also limited. It cannot solve Russia's problems very well, but it is the only way for Russia to supply Kaliningrad.
