As the war between Russia and Ukraine has continued for four months, some clowns in the international political arena have begun to act like monsters again! But this time the target they are aiming at is the Russian dagger holding their throats. Recently, NATO member Lithuania in response to sanctions against Russia, publicly announced that it would cut off some cargo connections between the Russian mainland and its enclave Kaliningrad Oblast . In other words, directly implements a physical blockade on the Russian continent, which is isolated in the hinterland of Europe.
Lithuanian President Nauseda
Faced with such targeted behavior, Emperor Putin and the Russian government did not get used to it. not only stated for the first time that "in the face of such open hostility, Russia has the right to take action to protect national interests." Afterwards, military exercises were launched with great fanfare in Kaliningrad Oblast, using thousands of soldiers, countless missiles and various special equipment. For a time, European countries couldn't help but worry whether this Russian enclave in the hinterland of Europe would become the "powder keg" that triggered the Third World War! So the question is: where did this Russian enclave of
come from, and why is Lithuania now physically blocked?
And what effect does Kaliningrad far away in Europe have on Russia and NATO, so that it can actually cause the two sides to collide directly?
Will the current targeted blockade and sanctions really lead to real fire between the two sides and intensify the conflict again?
The beloved small enclave
mentions Russia's connection with the Kaliningrad Oblast, and its story can be traced back to the World War that engulfed the entire Europe. At that time, this land located on the coast of the Baltic Sea was still part of East Prussia, Germany, and its central city was called Königsberg. However, on the eve of the end of World War II, the Soviet Union's steel torrent successfully planted the sickle and hammer flag over Königsberg.
So after the war, according to the Potsdam Agreement jointly signed by the Soviet Union, the United States, and Britain, this land was divided into the territory of the Soviet Union. A year later, the Soviet government established a state here in the name of the recently deceased leader, Kalinin. In this way, Kaliningrad Oblast was quietly established.
However, with the end of the Soviet Union in 1991, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia along the Baltic Sea became independent one after another. The disintegrated big brother Russia was almost isolated from the Baltic Sea, leaving only a very small part of the Gulf of Finland bordering its mainland. As for the Kaliningrad state, which is close to the Baltic Sea, it is tightly wrapped by Poland and Lithuania, and has completely lost its land connection with the Russian mainland.
In addition to sea transportation, its cross-border transportation must pass through Lithuania or Poland. Especially land transportation is tightly controlled by Lithuania and is extremely inconvenient. However, even so, Russia did not give up this land. Afterwards, with the efforts of many parties, Kaliningrad, far away from the mainland, became the only enclave in Russia and a first-level administrative state in the westernmost part of Russia.
However, although Kaliningrad is in level, it is divided into state levels by Russia. But in fact, its area is only 15,100 square kilometers, which is equivalent to a prefecture-level city in China, and its population is less than 1 million. At this level, is nothing compared to Russia's land area of more than 17 million square kilometers and population of nearly 150 million.
In that case, Why does Russia still pay so much attention to Kaliningrad? is even willing to compete head-on with NATO to keep this overseas enclave far away from the mainland. In fact, the answer to this question is very simple. That is the geostrategic and maritime economic value brought by Kaliningrad's special geographical location.
Economic treasure house in the hinterland of Europe
Although as an enclave, Kaliningrad Oblast is far away from the Russian mainland, and the straight-line distance between it and the capital Moscow is as long as 1,290 kilometers. However, the special geographical location of being isolated has caused Kaliningrad to penetrate directly into the hinterland of Europe. Invisibly, it has narrowed the distance with established European powers such as Germany and France.
The Baltic Sea next to it provides it with natural shipping advantages. Moreover, the Kaliningrad port is one of the few ice-free ports in Russia, handling at least 8 million tons of containers every year. means that once it is fully developed, it will bring huge economic benefits.
Therefore, since Emperor Putin came to power, he has always wanted to build Kaliningrad into the "Hong Kong of the Baltic Sea." not only lists it as a special economic zone, but also vigorously attracts foreign investment. We have also built extremely complete airport and port facilities to contact Western European countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Spain, and strengthen cooperation with the European Union. Even in 2009, Putin personally signed a decree making Kaliningrad one of the four places in Russia where gambling was legalized. The plan is to build it into a Russian version of Las Vegas and Macau.
It is no exaggeration to say that if the Russia-Ukraine conflict had not occurred and Russia's development plans had not been disrupted, the overseas enclave of Kaliningrad would have exploded in huge economic value in the future, and might even have become an important tourism destination for Russia. Industry pillar. At this time, Lithuania’s cargo restrictions will undoubtedly postpone the Kaliningrad Oblast’s construction plan indefinitely. Therefore, considering it from an economic perspective alone, it is enough to make Russia dissatisfied.
Of course, if it is just economic losses, it will not be enough to make Russia, Lithuania and NATO officially fall out. But its special geographical location has made Kaliningrad unexpectedly become Russia's dagger in the heart of Europe. makes it a natural fortress that Russia cannot let go of in terms of geostrategic value!
The unsinkable natural aircraft carrier
I believe that friends who have knowledge of Russia know that as the country with the largest land area in the world. Although Russia is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Arctic Ocean and Pacific Ocean, its sea area is extremely vast. However, due to its high latitude, its strategic layout has been in a state of water shortage in the five elements for a long time. In winter, most of the ports and seaports within the territory will freeze and cease operations. Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea coast, as one of the few ice-free ports in Russia, has naturally become an important strategic layout node for the Russian Navy .
Moreover, the Pod Plain next to Kaliningrad has always been a land corridor connecting Western European countries and Eastern European countries. Therefore, as long as Russia holds Kaliningrad tightly in its hands, it can simultaneously strangle the maritime and land routes from Western countries to Russia. Its value is self-evident. Therefore, Russia has already established one of the four major fleets, the Baltic Fleet base here. also deployed a large number of cross-service military clusters and various solid defenses, successfully turning it into an unsinkable natural aircraft carrier.
Baltic Fleet Base
And most importantly, The existence of Kaliningrad is still an Achilles heel that Russia hangs over NATO. You must know that Kaliningrad, which is deep in the heart of Europe, is more than 600 kilometers shorter than the Russian mainland from Western Europe. Like the headquarters of NATO and the European Union in Brussels, the straight-line distance between the two sides is only 1,080 kilometers; another example is the straight-line distance to Berlin, Germany, which is only 500 kilometers; the rest, such as Paris, France and London, the United Kingdom, are more than 1,300 kilometers away.
Such a superior distance advantage makes Russia double its deterrence no matter what weapons it deploys here. According to statistics, since NATO took the step of eastward expansion, Russia has successfully deployed the S-400 air defense missile system and the Iskander missile system that can be loaded with nuclear warheads in Kaliningrad. Even in recent years, Emperor Putin has considered deploying "Dagger" hypersonic missiles with a range of up to 2,000 kilometers here. Such high-intensity military investment has also successfully made NATO put the enemy on the line. Of course, NATO, which is very ambitious, is not willing to sit on such a powder keg, so all kinds of small moves and tricks started!
S-400 air defense missile system
Clamped land transportation
In fact, when the Soviet Union ended, newly independent Lithuania was still in awe of the big brother Russia. hardly restricts the direct connection between the Russian mainland and the enclave of Kaliningrad. The transportation of goods and the flow of people between the two places are almost unimpeded. Moreover, at that time, Russia also signed a joint declaration with the European Union on transit transportation between the Kaliningrad Oblast and the Russian mainland, which provided certain guarantees for the transportation of goods between the two places.
However, with the eastward expansion of NATO, the three Baltic countries adjacent to Kaliningrad joined NATO one after another, and the situation changed dramatically. Under the instruction of NATO and some European countries, Lithuania will deliberately restrict the transportation of goods between its mainland and Kaliningrad once relations between Russia and Western European countries decline. The most typical example is the Crimea incident in 2014. At that time, after the region voted to enter Russia in the referendum, the EU immediately imposed economic sanctions on Russia.
In order to respond to the EU, Lithuania began to play tricks to hinder the transportation of goods between the two sides. However, Lithuania at that time did not blatantly detain or embargo, but only deliberately delayed time. A large amount of goods are backlogged in customs for inspection, thereby reducing transportation efficiency. However, following Russia's strong attitude, the EU's sanctions eventually came to nothing, and Lithuania's small actions also stopped.
However, with the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the relationship between Russia, NATO and the European Union has also dropped to a freezing point. In this case, Lithuania, as a member of NATO, naturally took the lead again. It was the first to announce that it was preparing to impose restrictions on goods and energy shipped from Russia to Kaliningrad. And such a move would have a really fatal impact on the place!
Russia has countless trump cards to counterattack
Because the goods banned from transit by Lithuania this time mainly include coal, metal, steel, cement and some advanced technology products. According to estimates, this involves almost 40% to 50% of the cargo transportation between Russia and Kaliningrad. Especially for building materials goods such as cement and steel, once is really embargoed, it will indeed cause trouble in the short term for Kaliningrad, which has a weak industrial base!
But even so, Lithuania has not blocked the lifeblood of Kaliningrad. In fact, as early as after the EU imposed sanctions on Russia due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, there were rumors that Kaliningrad might be blocked. The Russian government, which was prepared for a rainy day, began to prepare in advance. It allowed Kaliningrad to store daily necessities such as grain, meat, dairy products, fish, etc. for 3 to 6 months. makes it unnecessary to worry in a short period of time that the blockade will impact the daily life of local people.
In addition to land transportation through Lithuania, Russia can also cross the Baltic Sea and use shipping to connect the mainland and Kaliningrad. Although the process is more troublesome, it at least allows Kaliningrad to bypass Lithuania's blockade defense line.
And more importantly, in the face of such targeted provocations, Russia is bound to give a certain counterattack. Even without the use of force, Russia has more trump cards in terms of economy and energy. You know, after Lithuania became independent, it joined the NATO camp. However, being born in the Soviet Union, it is still closely connected with Russia in terms of infrastructure and energy networks, and its standards are also common.
Just like the BRELL power grid currently shared between Russia, Belarus and the Baltic countries, its core voice is still in the hands of Russia.
Once Russia advocates kicking it out of the energy network, its destructive power will be unbearable for Lithuania. In addition, there is recognition of Lithuania's independence, and some disputed ports may become a means for Russia to counterattack. By then, it is still unclear what will happen to Lithuania, which is currently acting as a vanguard!
Of course, how this crisis will ultimately end is still unknown. But what is certain is that it will not be so easy to calm Russia’s anger in the future!
