Kaliningrad "is certainly not a city that surrenders," says one of its residents, Alexander, passionately. Located 1,000 kilometers from Moscow, this heavily armed Russian exclave is feeling the full brunt of its isolation and is trying to dispel the feeling of being under siege by its NATO neighbors Poland and Lithuania, BTA reports, citing AFP.
Poland and Lithuania, with whom Kaliningrad shares its only land borders, "want to show off, flex their muscles, strengthen their borders, build fortifications," said 25-year-old Alexander, who did not want to give his last name.
The young worker's words echo the position of the Russian government, which has been criticizing NATO countries that are staunch supporters of Kiev for three and a half years since the war in Ukraine began.
In June, Vladimir Putin declared in his usual style that Russians had been "deceived, misled about the non-expansion of NATO to the East". Moscow believes that NATO has placed its puppets in Ukraine - something the alliance denies. Countries bordering the Baltic Sea are feeling the strain keenly.
In recent weeks, Lithuania, and then Estonia, have condemned Russian warplanes entering their airspace. Polish President Karol Nawrocki warned in September from Finland that the Russian president was "ready to attack... other countries".
"Let them bark"
Kaliningrad, the former German Königsberg that became Soviet after World War II, is of strategic importance to Moscow. The 15,000 sq km exclave is home to the headquarters of Russia's Baltic Fleet, as well as Iskander missiles – a type of ballistic missile that Moscow often uses in Ukraine.
The regional governor's office did not respond to requests for an interview. When the agency asked Marina, 63, for her opinion on the tensions with NATO, she did not fail to sneer. “Let them yip! Let them bark! They should think about their own people. There are people who take care of us. Living in Kaliningrad, I am 100 percent protected,“ says the shop assistant, adding: “I am not afraid of NATO!”.
In other words, “everything is completely calm,” says Anna Dmitrik, a tour guide who has just shown the grave of the philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), who was born in the region, to Russian tourists. "I think we are the only city (in Russia - AFP note) where absolutely nothing is happening," she assures.
Kaliningrad has indeed been spared from the Ukrainian strikes aimed at western Russia. However, in the cityscape, the war reminds residents of itself in the form of posters calling on young people to sign up to fight in Ukraine.
A strange impression is made by this billboard advertising the benefits of a contract with the "victorious army", located next to another advertising NRJ - "number one radio for hits", with a photo of French DJ David Guetta.
"Life was much better"
Is Kaliningrad in the eye of the storm? In any case, its one million inhabitants are much more isolated than before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Regular passenger flights connecting it to the rest of Russia are forced to take a long detour across the Gulf of Finland to avoid flying over European Union countries. The train that connects the city to Moscow passes through Lithuania, and Russian passengers using it need a Schengen transit visa.
For its part, Lithuania, which borders Kaliningrad and Belarus, decided to close its border with this Russian ally until the end of November in response to the infiltration of balloons carrying smuggled cigarettes. Before 2022, "you could easily go to Poland, go shopping or just walk. "Buses and trucks were moving, life was much better," laments 48-year-old mechanic Vitaly Tsyplyankov.
Although the border with Poland is still open, the checkpoints are operating at a slower pace. To see this, just look at the numerous gas stations near the border that have closed forever.
Or "Baltiya Mall", a huge shopping mall with very few visitors on the way to the airport. "The economic situation in Kaliningrad is bad," sums up Irina, a saleswoman at the mall. "The logistics are very complicated to deliver products from Russia. Everything is more expensive," she adds, exhaling smoke from her "Chapman" cigarette.