Irina Shutova - SPBGU, Baltic and Scandinavian Studies

Kaliningrad is one Russian exclave that cuts off from mainland by two different states and that has many variants for its future.

This city has a great history. It is the youngest, the smallest and westernmost region in Russia. However, the development of the district was insufficient. For a long time it was isolated and neglected by Russian authorities and European countries as well. During the 1990s Russian economic crisis of August 1998 causes deep social and economic crisis in Kaliningrad. It was the first step to review of Russian Kaliningrad’s policy. The second step was the EU enlargement in 2004. It has lead to more active policy of Russian authorities in relation to this region. Kaliningrad is important subject of the Russian Federation. It has a great industrial potential first. Its major industries are manufacturing, shipping, fishing and amber products. Second, it is the only Russian Baltic Sea port.

The EU that neglected Kaliningrad as a significant region before has begun to pay more attention on it lately. The EU has become more involved after the designation of Kaliningrad as a Special Economic Zone especially. Nowadays, the European Commission has its special program for Kaliningrad. It provides funds for business projects under this program. The region has begun to show an increasing trade with the countries of the EU. Kaliningrad shows an economic growth nowadays partly due to the EU policy. The region has become more integrated in the EU.

Such ambivalent situation causes two groups of problems related to this topic. The first one is about movement of goods and people between Kaliningrad, the rest of Russia and the EU countries. And the second group is internal situation in Kaliningrad. I am not going to speak about it in detail, because the fundamental problem is the future position of the region. How to develop cooperation between Kaliningrad, Moscow and Brussels? Is Kaliningrad is going to be a part or a pilot project for EU-Russian cooperation?

The last project shows that Moscow holds the key and it does not want Kaliningrad to play as an independent actor in relations with the EU. Kaliningrad is expecting to become a significant energy supplier. Yes, I am speaking about the Baltic Nuclear Power Plant. The project was established in 2007. It is the joint venture ALTSOM-Atomenergomash and Rosatom Group. As it said in official descriptions of the project it is going to provide a reliable supply of electricity to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad and to offset the lack of electricity in neighboring nations by exporting power to those countries. No doubt, the project has a great potential and purposes. It will become an essential contribution to the region development as well.

It seems to become a great project. Of course, there are some challenges, for instance, concerning potential investors. It is not decided yet which foreign companies will participate in the project. Moreover, there are some protests of European Greens. But in relation to our topic we can conclude that it is firstly political project. It can give the opportunity to Russia to increase the energetic dominance in the region. It can contribute to better cooperation in the region. And finally, Kaliningrad can become a center for such cooperation. It can become a necessary puzzle for Moscow and Brussels relationships firstly and for Russian, Polish and Lithuanian cooperation secondly. This project can make the region more integrated and developed. 

To introduce clarity into the place of Kaliningrad in the project and the future, I am not sure that the regional cooperation is possible without an active participation of central authorities in Russia. Many decisions are made in Moscow. That is why Kaliningrad cannot become an independent player in the project. However, it will get great benefits from the project. Second, I am sure that economic cooperation always leads to better political collaboration. It means that two existing groups of problems is expecting to be easily solved in Kaliningrad.

To sum up, the foundation stone of Russia’s Baltic Nuclear Power Plant was laid in February 2010. And I believe that this stone has become not only the beginning of project but also new vision of Kaliningrad as a significant Russian region and a puzzle for Russian-EU cooperation.