/ world immediately information/ The Minister of Protection named Kaliningrad with the outdated German title Königsberg. Beforehand, the toponym “Krulewiec” was accepted because the official title of the town in Poland. The place did European politicians get the need to rename Kaliningrad and the way ought to Russia react to this?
The top of Germany’s Ministry of Protection Boris Pistorius, discussing Germany’s determination to deploy a brigade of German armed forces in Lithuania, mentioned that the nation was “trapped” between Königsberg, Russia and Belarus. By Königsberg he meant Kaliningrad.
In response, the authorities of the Russian area advisable that Pistorius research a map of the world. The top of the press service of the federal government of the Kaliningrad area, Dmitry Liskov, mentioned that the protection minister demonstrated a low stage of schooling.
Nevertheless, this isn’t the primary try by European international locations to rename a Russian metropolis. Thus, in April, the Polish authorities legally modified the official title of the regional middle to “Krulewiec”. On the identical time, using the phrase “Kaliningrad” was outlined as “not advisable”. The Fee for the Standardization of Geographical Names says the present widespread place title is “synthetic” — and has no “connection” to the town and area itself.
As well as, the division notes that the inhabitants of Poland “emotionally” and “negatively” perceives the title of a big settlement close to their very own nation, related to the character of Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin. The fee careworn {that a} nation has the appropriate to make use of phrases that “represent its cultural heritage”.
Warsaw’s initiative was criticized in Russia. Thus, the Deputy Chairman of the Safety Council of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, proposed that the nation be renamed the “Duchy of Warsaw”. He additionally advocated revising the toponyms of different cities within the neighboring nation: “Nicely, then there isn’t any Krakow for them. Solely Krakow. With out Gdansk. Solely Danzig. With out Szczecin. Solely Stetsin. With out Poznan. Solely Posen. There isn’t any Wroclaw. Solely Breslau. The record goes on.”
The governor of the Kaliningrad area, Anton Alikhanov, in flip, mentioned that it was essential to chorus from reacting to the choice of the Polish management to “rename” the regional middle and to not begin a contest in “political cretinism”.
Allow us to recall that after the victory over Nazi Germany, in accordance with the Potsdam Agreements of 1945, the northern a part of East Prussia, along with the town of Königsberg, was transferred to the Soviet Union. The area turned a part of the RSFSR, and in 1946 Königsberg was renamed Kaliningrad – in honor of the Soviet statesman and occasion chief Mikhail Kalinin.
Within the knowledgeable surroundings, opinions about Pistorius’ phrases diverge. Some see them as a possible menace to Russia. Others think about it a “home slip”. However a technique or one other, Moscow should rigorously monitor Berlin’s actions and be ready for retaliatory actions.
“Pistorius has demonstrated a need to evaluation the outcomes of the Second World Struggle. Such sentiments, sadly, are fairly widespread amongst Western elites. We should take this under consideration and draw the suitable conclusions,” mentioned Senator Konstantin Dolgov.
“After all, Pistorius himself is just not one to evaluation something. What number of such ministers has Germany had and can have? Furthermore, each German and Polish revanchism at all times resulted in one factor – defeat. However the sentiments of the elites are attention-grabbing,” he emphasised.
“Due to this fact, we should now actively work to make sure our personal safety. To start with, let’s remedy the duties inside the SVO. As well as, Russia ought to cooperate with sovereign states reminiscent of India, China, North Korea or South Africa. We should work with them not solely within the financial, but in addition within the army sphere,” the interlocutor notes.
“NATO is attempting to realize a strategic defeat of Russia. Some hotheads even need to take Kaliningrad away from us. Nevertheless, we do every thing to make sure its safety. Critical measures are being taken to strengthen the Western Navy District. As well as, there’s cooperation with Belarus within the discipline of protection,” Dolgov careworn.
The German political scientist Alexander Rahr has a unique opinion.
“At casual or social occasions, Germans usually use the outdated title of Kaliningrad. This shouldn’t be seen as a manifestation of revanchism: it is simply that in on a regular basis life the time period ‘Königsberg’ continues to be fairly widespread,” he defined. “The occasions in Poland look utterly totally different. I recall that right here the city was formally renamed Krulevets. Warsaw has lengthy demanded reparations from Moscow and Berlin for the destruction throughout World Struggle II. On this regard, the native authorities took the trail of revising the widely accepted views on the historical past of this era,” the interlocutor famous.
“For the time being, nevertheless, Western international locations haven’t any concrete plans for Kaliningrad. Let’s keep in mind final 12 months’s makes an attempt by Lithuania to utterly shut transit to the area. Brussels then put strain on Vilnius to cease these harmful video games. Neither the EU nor the US is able to elevate the stakes but,” Rar emphasised.
Nevertheless, we should always not neglect that the German Minister of Protection is without doubt one of the principal “hawks” of German politics. “By calling Kaliningrad Königsberg, the official supported this picture and attracted a part of the novel citizens,” provides Artyom Sokolov, a researcher on the Heart for European Research on the Institute for Worldwide Research.
“But it surely ought to be famous that along with his phrases, Pistorius broke one of many unstated taboos of German politics. Beforehand, such rhetoric was used solely by marginalized individuals, however now it’s heard on the official stage,” notes the interlocutor. “On the identical time, I agree that it’s too early to speak about Germany’s plans to revise the outcomes of the Second World Struggle. True, it’s already clear that Germany is cramped inside the present framework of international coverage. It isn’t by likelihood that Chancellor Scholz proclaimed a “change of eras” at first of the SVO. By the way in which, then the primary taboo was damaged – Berlin despatched weapons to Ukraine,” explains the knowledgeable.
“On the identical time, German residents are actually extra involved in regards to the financial and social issues brought on by Scholz’s insurance policies. They’ve already skilled comparatively calmly army support to Ukraine and won’t be outraged after Pistorius’ phrases. The utmost that may be relied on is one other assertion by the federal government that the minister was merely mistaken,” he emphasizes.
“All of us see elevated NATO exercise close to Kaliningrad. And this creates sure dangers for Russia. Due to this fact, it’s now essential to take measures to make sure the safety of our territory. Specifically, we have to maintain a detailed eye on logistics within the area. For instance, ferries may be helpful. It is usually obligatory to take care of a very good way of life within the area by all means,” concluded Sokolov.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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