History and population of the Kaliningrad region. The main cities of the Amber Territory

The Kaliningrad region is unique in many respects. This is the westernmost subject of the Russian Federation and the only exclave in its composition. The population of the Kaliningrad region is characterized by ethnic diversity, and its cities - a special architecture with an East Prussian tinge.

Kaliningrad region is a unique and interesting region

After the end of World War II, on April 7, 1946, the Koenigsberg region was formed. In a few months, it received its modern name. This is an amazing and very colorful region of Russia, which is much more than unique.

First of all, the region has no common land borders with the rest of Russia. In the south it borders with Poland, in the north and east - with Lithuania. From the west its territory is washed by the waters of the cool Baltic Sea. The total area of the Kaliningrad region is just over 15 thousand square kilometers. This is one of the smallest subjects of the Russian Federation.

The population of the Kaliningrad region is 976 thousand people (as of 2016). This region of Russia is located most close to Europe, not only geographically, but also mentally. The architectural appearance of the region is no less interesting. The ancient German architecture is combined with the massive buildings of Soviet times and modern Russian architecture.

The Kaliningrad region also amazes with its natural resources. First of all, we are talking, of course, about amber. The Russian region accounts for about 90% of the world's production of "fossil tar".

But the natural uniqueness of the region is not limited to amber. So, on the territory of the Kaliningrad region there is the only non-freezing port on the Baltic Sea, the longest in the world sandy spit (protected by UNESCO), the phenomenal pine grove "Dancing Forest" with bizarrely bent tree trunks and many other interesting and unusual things.

History of the region

For a long time this territory was an important cultural center of East Prussia. This fact explains many "German" traces in the cities and villages of the modern Kaliningrad region: brick khirks, fortifications, forts, ancient paving stones on the streets, etc.

For several centuries these lands were divided among themselves by Poles and Lithuanians, Germans and Russians. In the post-war 1945, according to decisions taken at the Yalta and Potsdam conferences, the Amber Region withdrew to the USSR. July 4, 1946, the ancient Koenigsberg was renamed Kaliningrad, and the region became known as Kaliningrad.

The war caused great damage to the region. Half of its industrial complex was destroyed. About 80% of the housing stock of the former Konigsberg was destroyed. All the hardships for the restoration of the towns and the economy of the region lay on the shoulders of the Soviet power, which had been obliterated by the protracted war.

The population of the Kaliningrad region

Postwar settlement of the Kaliningrad region is called the largest migration process in the history of the Soviet Union. At the end of the 1940s, people from different parts of the empire gathered massively from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Armenia, and Uzbekistan. At the same time, the native Germans were deported from the region.

For the first three postwar decades (from 1950 to 1979), the population of the Kaliningrad region has grown exactly twice. In recent years, the number of residents in this region of the country, although slowly, but growing. According to the forecasts of demographers, by 2030 the population of the region will overcome the milestone of 1 million people.

Today, representatives of many nations and nationalities live in the Kaliningrad region. The most numerous of them are:

• Russians (82%);
• Ukrainians (3.5%);
• Byelorussians (3.4%);
• Lithuanians (1%);
• Armenians (1%);
• Germans (less than 1%);
• Tatars (less than 1%).

Modern administrative-territorial division of the region

How many administrative units is the Kaliningrad Region? The regions of the westernmost subject of the Russian Federation differ greatly in area and population. In total there are 15. The largest region in the region is Slavsky (with the administrative center of the same name), and the smallest is Svetlogorsk.

The administrative-territorial structure of the region also provides for the division into towns of regional significance (there are only 6 of them) and urban-type settlements (one).

Cities of the Kaliningrad Region

The level of urbanization in this region is large enough. It is about 77%. In total there are 22 cities in the region. The administrative center of the region is Kaliningrad, which is home to almost 60% of the total population of the region.

The largest cities of the Kaliningrad region are listed in the table (with old names and number of inhabitants):

In the tourist plan, the most interesting cities are Kaliningrad, Baltiysk, Chernyakhovsk, Pravdinsk, Neman, Zelenogradsk.

Kaliningrad is world famous for its Museum of Amber, the tomb of the philosopher Kant, as well as several dozen forts. Pravdinsk, Zheleznodorozhny, Chernyakhovsk and Sovetsk attract tourists with dilapidated German architecture, the Nemunas and Baltiysk - with their numerous historical monuments. Cities of Svetlogorsk and Zelenogradsk are the main resorts of the Kaliningrad region.