The Impact of Kaliningrad factor on the Lithuanian national security

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Kaliningrado faktorius; Lietuvos nacionalinis saugumas; Poveikis; Kaliningrad factor; Lithuanian national security; The impact.

ENThe factor of the Kaliningrad region has been receiving continued, albeit limited, academic attention since the end of the Cold War. Interest was driven by the region’s unique geographical location (exclave), its future following the accession of the neighbouring countries to the EU and NATO, and problems of economic and social development. The issue of Kaliningrad area received special attention in 2002-2003 before Lithuania’s accession to the EU, when the problem of facilitated transit through Lithuania was successfully solved. Already at that time there was an obvious dualism between the liberal points of view, focusing on the status of the Kaliningrad region as a ‘pilot region’ in the context of EU-Russia cooperation, and more realistic, which had already highlighted the problems of Kaliningrad’s geopolitical situation (Lopata, Geopolitinis įkaitas: Rusijos Federacijos Kaliningrado (Karaliaučiaus) srities atvejis, 2005). [From the publication]