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National and Regional Identity in Kaliningrad Oblast from the Cross-border Perspective

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Zieliński M. J.

Lithuanian Foreign Policy Review

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2015

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vol. 34

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issue 1

109-134

EN

The article analyses the notion of national and regional identity of contemporary inhabitants of Kaliningrad Oblast, as seen by local government officials, NGO activists and researchers living and working in the Polish cities of Elbląg and Gdańsk. For the purposes of the article, nine in-depth interviews were chosen conducted. The article takes into account interviewees’ opinions based on their experience, everyday cooperation with institutions and private contacts with individuals from Kaliningrad Oblast. The main question addressed is to what extent inhabitants of Kaliningrad Oblast are perceived to be different from their compatriots from other regions of Russia in matters constituting national community: narrative of history, tradition, symbols etc. The role of the Local Small Border Traffic Agreement (LBTA) between Poland and Russia, which has served as an important means of facilitating cross-border contacts, was also evaluated. The article demonstrates that despite come regional peculiarities the most prevailing level of identity in Kaliningrad Oblast is that related to the feeling of belonging to the Russian nation.

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Z Kaliningradu na Кёнигсберг – zapotrzebowanie społeczne czy marzenie nielicznych? Społeczna inicjatywa zmiany nazwy miasta

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Zieliński M. J.

Sprawy Narodowościowe

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2013

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issue 43

EN

Kaliningrad into Кёнигсберг – a social need or a dream of a few? Societal initiative for a change of the city’s nameKaliningrad Oblast of the Russian Federation has been subject to manifold social processes due to its specific history, geographic conditions and other factors. Some of the former resulted in rejecting numerous elements of the Soviet past by a part of the local population. This included the very name of Kaliningrad, as a tribute paid to Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin who has been considered one of the state and party officials responsible for mass purges in the 1930s and 1940s.the purpose of the article is to analyse the initiative put forward by a group of social activists to change the name ‘Kaliningrad’ into ‘Кёнигсберг’ (Königsberg), that is to return to the pre-war name of the city. As authors of the petition refer to previous attempts of changing the name and use them as an important part of their reasoning, the history of the notion has also been outlined with emphasis on the December 1988 discussion noted by Alexander Nikolaevich Yakovlev, then a Communist Party official.In the article, a brief introduction of the petition is followed by main arguments used by its supporters and the discussion which the document triggered among the local administration and in the media, in particular the Internet. The discussion concentrated on two aspects of the petition. First, controversies around procedural handling of the petition by Kaliningrad Duma. Secondly, fierce debates about phrases used in the document and their political significance in the context of the contemporary identity of Kaliningrad Oblast.Results of the debate and the impact the petition had on broader public opinion, both in Kaliningrad Oblast and the whole of Russia, turned out to be meagre. Only 400 signatures were collected across the country to support the idea. No decisive measures were taken on the administrative level such as moving the initiative toward a referendum. No agreement was reached between those who wish to turn the whole notion down and those who would like to postpone the final decision to a more distant future.In conclusion, it is worth noting that despite the obvious failure of the petition the discussion showed considerable social activity in Kaliningrad Oblast, especially on the part of the younger generation. This was reflected by a number of threads and posts in electronic media, many of which served as a basis for a constructive debate with relatively few irrelevant (insulting, aggressive and vulgar) arguments. On the other hand, the article shows that there is still considerable nostalgia for the Soviet Union and its artifacts in Kaliningrad Oblast.

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Pierwsze lata istnienia obwodu kaliningradzkiego a problem kształtowania się tożsamości jego mieszkańców

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Zieliński M. J.

Adeptus

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2014

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issue 3

EN

The early years of the existence of the Kaliningrad Oblast and the difficulties in constructing the identity of its inhabitantsIn the last two decades, the Kaliningrad Oblast has been subject to changes of a manifold nature, not only political but also societal and cultural. As a result of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the region has become a semi-enclave which has led to the consequences of the former occupation being even greater. As a result, the Oblast differs from other parts of Russia. Experts involved with the Kaliningrad Oblast, both from Russia and abroad, agree that it constitutes a unique part of the historic, cultural and societal mosaic of Russia. It comes as no surprise that geopolitical processes have left a significant mark on the Kaliningrad Oblast identity. Nowadays the semi-exclave is often described as the most European among the Russian regions. Yet the question of the contemporary identity of the Kaliningrad Oblast’s inhabitants cannot be properly addressed and examined without research into the very first years of the regions’ existence (from 1945 to the end of the 1950s). This paper aims at briefly summing up changes that took place in the northern part of former East Prussia in four areas after the Second World War. This will include: the taking over of control by the Soviet administration of the newly conquered territory; settling the region with a new population and the deportation of Germans still remaining there; replacing German names of towns and villages with Soviet (Russian) ones; the attitude of central and local authorities towards religious communities and attempts to spontaneously organise religious life in the region.All of the above-mentioned elements of post-war life in the Kaliningrad Oblast contributed to the creation of a new politico-social reality which encompassed a total denial of the region’s past. Together with further changes, these elements laid the foundations of the identity of its inhabitants after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. In this sense, they can be considered as a starting point for further research which is my main objective as a PhD student at the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Pierwsze lata istnienia obwodu kaliningradzkiego a problem kształtowania się tożsamości jego mieszkańcówPrzez minione dwie dekady obwód kaliningradzki podlegał różnorakim zmianom – nie tylko politycznym, ale również społecznym i kulturowym. W wyniku rozpadu Związku Sowieckiego obwód stał się półeksklawą, co dodatkowo spotęgowało skutki zachodzących zmian. W rezultacie obwód znacząco różni się od pozostałych część Rosji. Eksperci zajmujący się regionem, zarówno z Rosji, jak i innych krajów, zgodnie twierdzą, że obwód kaliningradzki to unikatowa część historycznej, kulturowej i społecznej mozaiki tego kraju. Nie jest zaskoczeniem, że procesy geopolityczne zostawiły ślad w tożsamości najbardziej europejskiego spośród rosyjskich regionów. Współczesna tożsamość mieszkańców obwodu kaliningradzkiego nie może być jednak dokładnie zbadana i opisana bez analizy pierwszych lat istnienia tego bytu politycznego, tj. okresu od 1945 roku do końca lat 50. Celem niniejszego artykułu jest zwięzłe podsumowanie zmian, które nastąpiły w obwodzie kaliningradzkim, na podstawie czterech umownych dziedzin, tj.: okoliczności przejęcia kontroli administracji sowieckiej nad nowo zdobytym obszarem; zasiedlenie regionu przez nowych osadników i deportację pozostałej tu ludności niemieckiej; zastąpienie niemieckich nazw miejscowości przez nazwy sowieckie (rosyjskie); spontaniczne próby organizacji życia religijnego w regionie oraz stosunek władz centralnych i lokalnych do wspólnot wyznaniowych.Wymienione elementy powojennego życia w obwodzie kaliningradzkim przyczyniły się do stworzenia tu nowej rzeczywistości społeczno-politycznej, która oznaczała całkowitą negację przeszłości regionu. Zmiany owe, a także te, do których doszło w kolejnych latach, położyły podwaliny tożsamości mieszkańców obwodu już po rozpadzie Związku Sowieckiego oraz jej dalszą ewolucję. Pod tym względem mogą być postrzegane jako punkt wyjścia dla dalszej analizy, która jest głównym celem moich badań jako doktoranta w Instytucie Slawistyki Polskiej Akademii Nauk.

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National and Regional Identity in Kaliningrad Oblast from the Cross-border Perspective

Z Kaliningradu na Кёнигсберг – zapotrzebowanie społeczne czy marzenie nielicznych? Społeczna inicjatywa zmiany nazwy miasta

Pierwsze lata istnienia obwodu kaliningradzkiego a problem kształtowania się tożsamości jego mieszkańców