Kaliningrad – an ambivalent transnational region within a European-Russian scope. Evgeniy ChernyshevЧитать онлайн книгу.

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issue of East Prussia was considered by the Allied powers as part of the Polish question.

      Churchill strongly sought to reach the agreements that he could present to the representatives of the Polish Government-in-exile in London. According to his suggestion, a new Polish state should be located between the Curzon Line and the Oder, including East Prussia.

      Stalin said, «Russians have no ice-free ports on the Baltic Sea. Therefore, Russians would need to have ice-free ports of Konigsberg, Memel and some part of the East Prussia. Moreover, historically this is originally Slavic lands. If the British agreed to transfer us mentioned area, then we will agree with the formula proposed by Churchill»119. Churchill reacted to this proposal with benevolent curiosity: «This is a very interesting suggestion, which I will look into»120.

      Indeed, the agreement reached in Tehran largely determined the post-war fate of Eastern Prussia. However, at that moment the Western Allies believed that much was still to come and that they would be able to win back some positions. Nevertheless, the Soviet Union took the irrevocable and uncompromising course for the future inclusion of Poland and East Prussia into its own sphere of influence.

      The prevailing practice of the international law permitted withdrawal of certain parts of the state aggressor as a sanction against this state. In this case, the sanction was imposed primarily on the territory, which was used as a springboard for attack to prevent the revival of aggression in future.

      On 1 February 1944, Churchill informed Stalin in a message about the meeting with representatives of the Polish Government-in-exile in London: «I told them that we went to war to protect Poland, we went for it not because of any particular borderline, but for the establishment of a strong and independent Poland…»121

      On 4 February 1944, Stalin, in his reply to Churchill concerning borders of Poland, reiterated, «As for your statement to the Poles that Poland could considerably extend its borders to the west and north, then, as you know, we agree with it, but with amendment. About this amendment, I spoke to you and President Roosevelt in Tehran. We claim the north-eastern part of East Prussia, including the ice-free port Königsberg, which should be ceded to the Soviet Union. This is the only piece of German territory, which we claim…»122

      In a letter to Stalin, which was received in Moscow on 27 February 1944, Churchill for the first time explicitly stated that the British government supported the transfer of Königsberg and surrounding area to the Soviet Union and considered this claim «as fair»… «The land of this part of East Prussia stained with blood of Russian… therefore, Russian have historical and well-founded claim to this German territory». In the same message, Churchill for the first time spoke in favour of «resettlement of the German population»123.

      Winston Churchill and Minister of Foreign Affairs Antony Eden were on a visit to Moscow on the 9—18 October 1944. The head of the Polish government-in-exile Stanislaw Mikolajczyk, who was present during the conversations, asked if he could know which western boundary was defined for Poland in Teheran. Vyacheslav Molotov said that the border along Oder was considered without anyone’s objection. Eden said that «the idea had been that the frontier could be moved as far west toward the Oder as the Poles wished to go». Churchill assured him: «All of East Prussia west and south of Königsberg was to go to Poland»124.

      In early 1945, Soviet troops arrived at the borders of East Prussia. Because of «the East Prussian strategic offensive» of the Red Army (13 January—25 April 1945) on 9 April, the garrison of Konigsberg surrendered. The surrender of Konigsberg actually reinforced the political arrangements over East Prussia. From that moment onwards, the region was under the control of the Soviet Army.

      After heated debates on the Yalta conference, the Allies agreed that the eastern border of Poland would have to pass on the «Curzon Line». Therefore, it can be argued that at Yalta Conference in February 1945, the head of the USSR, the USA, and the Great Britain almost solved the issue of the future borders of Poland and the fate of Eastern Prussia. President Roosevelt agreed with Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill. On the fifth plenary session of the Yalta Conference, it was agreed that «compensation should be given to Poland at the expense of Germany, including that portion of East Prussia south of the Königsberg line…»125

      The agreement in principle was reached – only the details remained to be discussed. This discussion took place at the Conference of Potsdam from 17 July to 2 September 1945. At the seventh meeting of the heads of governments on 23 July, the issue of the transfer of the region around Königsberg to the Soviet Union was discussed. Stalin recalled that «President Roosevelt and Mr Churchill at the Tehran Conference gave their consent in this regard, and this issue has been agreed between us. We would like to have this agreement confirmed at this conference»126. In response to the exchange of opinions, the US and Great Britain delegations confirmed their consent given in Tehran.

      According to an agreement in the communiqué of 2 August 1945 of the Berlin conference, the sixth section under the title «City of Königsberg and the surrounding area» stated the following: «The Conference has agreed in principle to the proposal of the Soviet government concerning the ultimate transfer to the Soviet Union of the City of Königsberg and the area adjacent to it as described above, subject to expert examination of the actual frontier»127.

      The Conference agreed in principle to the proposal of the Soviet government to transfer the city of Königsberg and surrounding area to the Soviet Union, as described above. However, the exact boundary was the subject of expert’s study. The US President and the British Prime Minister have declared that they «will support this proposal at the forthcoming Peace Conference»128.

      Therefore, the Potsdam Conference recognized the need to detach the East Prussia from Germany and incorporate it in Poland and the Soviet Union. The so-called «expert’s study» was not followed due to certain changes in the foreign policy that led to the beginning of the «Cold War».

      Owing to the agreements reached at the Yalta and Potsdam conferences, the northern part of East Prussia, which is about one-third of its total area, was incorporated into the Soviet Union. On 7 April 1946, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued the decree «On the establishment on the territory of Königsberg and surrounding area the Königsberg Oblast and inclusion of it in the RSFSR». On 4 July 1946, the area was renamed Kaliningrad Oblast and the town was renamed Kaliningrad.

      The main Soviet newspaper «Pravda» wrote about it: «Forever was hoisted the flag of the Soviet Union there, where began their plundering raids to Russia a Teutonic knights, hordes of Kaiser Wilhelm, Hitler’s armoured gangs; nowadays Königsberg and surrounding areas have unforgettable name of the great son of Russian nation, Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin»129.

      2.2. Migration as a source of demographic shift before the collapse of the USSR: Formation of regional society

      2.2.1. After the end of hostilities: Deportation of German population

      Small or large territories were transferred from one state to another at various points in history. However, the Kaliningrad region is unique in a sense that in a very short period (several years) the population changed completely on a certain territory with defined borders. The population as a medium of historical memory and cultural heritage is gone and other people who had no idea about the new place of residence have replaced it.

      The

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