Kaliningrad Map

interesting history of it’s own.  Before 1255, a Prussian fort called Twangste existed as the main settlement but on that date the Teutonic Knights conquered the area, demolished Twangste and erected a new fort called Conigsberg.  The Teutonic Knights were a medieval, German military order which was formed to to protect Christians making their way to the Holy Land on pilgrimages.

Königsberg is the more usually accepted spelling of the Teutonic fort and around it grew up the towns of Altstadt (now Leninprospekt), Kneiphof and Löbenicht.  The Teutonic Order used the fort as a base from which to launch attacks against Lithuania but it also faced Prussian rebellions in 1262-3.  By 1340 it had joined the Hanseatic League, the alliance of merchant and trading groups in the region but it’s continuing aggression towards various part of the area led to an almost constant state of low level war which ultimately led to defeat in the Battle of Grunwald and, in the middle of the 15th century, another concerted rebellion by the Prussian Confederation.  The Teutons always held on to Königsberg though, despite its diminishing influence.

The 17th century saw more warfare as Sweden and various other local powers laid claim to either Königsberg or the entire area in which it was contained.  Ultimately it retained a level of autonomy while accepting its position as subordinate to a larger power.  The Prussian Empire obtained more and more influence over Königsberg until 1724 when the surrounding towns were absorbed into one entity to become a ‘greater’ Königsberg.

Kaliningrad

The next big event in the history of Königsberg was the invasion of Prussia by the Russians under Empress Elizabeth 1st.  This conquest included Königsberg until 1763.  Following the departure of the Russians, Königsberg eventually became the capital of the Province of Prussia in 1824 when East and West Prussia merged.  By 1871 it had been absorbed into the greater German Empire and that’s how it remained until the end of the First World War when Free State of Prussia took over.

The German’s took control once more in 1933 and retained it throughout the Second World War until 1945 when the Russian Red Army laid siege to the city, causing massive damage.  Under Soviet control post-war, Königsberg was re-populated by Russian citizens and renamed Kaliningrad.  Unlike other Soviet satellites, the Russians have kept hold of this one and maintain a large military presence there.

The very earliest traces of civilisation in Estonia date back to the Kunda race in around 8000BC and this nomadic community remained active in the region until around 5000BC when the Narva took over.  The Comb Ceramic culture dominated from 4200Bc to about 2000BC, increasing the population of the area and the name is derived from the comb-like imprints on their pottery.

From about 1800BC, the first fortified settlements began to appear along with delineated borders between the Baltic and Finnish states.  There is also evidence that some sort of trade was undertaken by ship by the inhabitants of the region.  Fortification and improved standards of living continued until the 1st century AD when the Romans arrived.  The first links to the word ‘Estonia’ seem to date from this period with references to the ‘Aestii’ people.   By the time the Romans had departed by the middle of the 5th century, Estonia was split into a North, South and Western regions.

Evidence from the post-Roman era tends to point to a fairly combative race, continually at odds with its Scandinavian neighbours but by the 11th century, central authority in Germany and Scandinavian countries had turned the tables.  Estonia now became the target for well organised ‘crusades’ from Denmark, Germany and Sweden.  Following this period, mot of Estonia was dominated by what is known as the Livonians.  This was the name of a local tribe which aided in the invaders crusades but came to be the term by which the new occupiers were known.

Tallinn circa 1918

This remote part of Europe was heavily influenced by the new ideas of the Reformation in the early 16th century.  This did not please the Catholic church which requested military help from Estonia’s neighbours in persuading it to rescind the teaching of the Reformation.  An extremely complex conflict now took place which involved just about all the regional powers including  Russia, Poland and Lithuania.  What ultimately resulted was Swedish control of mainland Estonia by 1625, although the southern portion was still known as Livonia.

By 1710 however, the Great Northern War between Sweden and Russia led to a complete occupation of Estonia by Russia although the culture remained largely German in origin.  Like Latvia and Lithuania though, the Estonians were a race that valued independence and education.  By 1861 a movement was underway to promote Estonian language and literature in schools, something which the Russians tried to outlaw in 1889 when they introduced the policy of Russification.

Red Army in Tallinn

Following the Russian revolution, the new Russian authorities granted a level of autonomy to Estonia which promptly ended when the Germans occupied the country.  After the end of the First World War and the German retreat, the Russian Red Army attempted to re-invade but was repulsed by the Estonian national army.  Independence became the status quo until 1940 when the Soviet Union re-occupied Estonia via a mixture of threats and aggression.

Aside from another three year period of German occupation between 1941 and 1944, Soviet occupation remained in force until 1991 when a referendum on independence followed a grass-roots independence movement.  By late 1991 Estonia had once again established itself as an independent entity, recognised as such by global institutions.

Since the country’s independence, theatre, choir music and classical music have become the most notable aspects of Latvian culture. That, and the cuisine that is reminiscent of a German kitchen with its cheese, potatoes and meat dishes. for sports, ice hockey is the most popular and the team can often be seen competing in the Winter Olympics.

About a quarter of Latvia’s population is Russian-speaking and the rights of this section of society have been an awkward issue since their independence. There were government reforms introduced in 2004 to stop the use of the Russian language in schools and these continue to be controversial.

Legislation on citizenship was tightened in 2006. Candidates who do not pass a Latvian language test three times are refused citizenship. People that don’t have citizenship are entitled neither to vote nor to get an EU passport. The best way to see Latvia and its capital is by staying in the heart of the city in an apartment building. This way, you can see the city on a budget and through the eyes of a local.

The area was first settled about 12000 years ago by tribes heading north and following the retreat of the glaciers.  Our first documentary evidence of activity here doesn’t appear until the end of the first millennium AD and by 1253, King Mindaugas had united the country.  Following his death, Lithuania was targeted by Christian crusaders but still managed to expand rapidly – by the end of the 14th century modern day Belarus, Ukraine and parts of Poland and Russia were all part of Lithuania.

By the 15th century, Russia was beginning to exert its power in the region, forcing Lithuania and Poland to create the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1569.  The two countries already had close ties but Russia’s expansionist policies forced them onto a more organised footing.  During this period, Lithuania became increasingly culturally dominated by Poland but things were about to get worse. From the middle of the 17th century, war with Sweden was followed by the Great Northern War (involving many of the neighbouring countries) and then disease and famine resulting in the deaths of around 40% of the population.

Vilnius circa 1900

These events were the precursor to Russian domination in the region and by the end of the 18th century, much of Lithuania’s territory had been appropriated by Russia, Austria and Prussia.  In 1863, all of Lithuania came under Russian control and Russia attempted to culturally alter Lithuanian society.  Despite this, Lithuania retained its independent spirit and underground networks helped the cause although by 1914, another 20% of the population had emigrated, many to the United States.

The independent spirit still lived on however but by this time, Germany had become the occupying force.  At the end of the First World War, independence was declared but an area which included the capital, Vilnius, was occupied by the Polish army.  This remained the case until the beginning of the Second World War when Vilnius was returned to Lithuania.  In 1940 it was re-occupied by Russia and then Germany (when the former declared war on the latter).  Lithuania was the scene of the death of some 190,000 Jews at the hands of the Nazis.

Kaunas Jewish ghetto

At the end of the Second World War, Russia once again took control and it wasn’t until the Soviet glasnost in the late 1980s that the independence movement came to the fore again.  On 11th March 1990, Lithuania declared independence.  In the following months, the Soviet Union made several (sometimes violent) attempts to keep hold of Lithuania but when Iceland became the first country to recognise the state in February 1991, the writing was on the wall.  The collapse of the Soviet Union helped speed things along.

Lithuania is now a member of NATO and the European Union, a participant in the Schengen Agreement and the owner of a free market economy.

We’ll pick up the story at around 1100AD when the various tribes which inhabited the area were known to control distinct parts of the country.  At this point, Latvia was a useful trading route for goods between Russia and the Middle East and the countries in between.  The biggest river, the Daugava, was the main artery for trading goods.

In the middle ages there was a decidedly Germanic influence to Latvia – Riga, the current capital was the founded by Teutonic colonists and was the largest city in the region.  This dominance remained until the 17th century when Latvia’s importance as a trading route made it a target for conquest from several nearby nations, including Russia, Poland and Sweden.  Sweden briefly took control until 1710 when Russia flexed it’s muscles and for the next 200 years it became part of the Russian empire.

Liberation in Riga circa 1940

Latvia was always a hotbed of independent thinking however and at the end of the First World War finally gained sovereignty with Russia’s consent.  Riga was one of the cities which accommodated those fomenting revolution. The Second World war brought all that to an end when Latvia was appropriated by Russia in 1940 and then invaded by Nazi Germany.  Following the defeat of the Germans, Latvia was once again absorbed into the Soviet Union and remained this way for the next 45 years until Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev began to liberalise the entire Union.

Full independence ultimately came in August 1991, following the collapse of the Soviet Union.  Russia recognised the move in September of the same year and Latvia was quickly welcomed into the United Nations.  Membership of the European Union and NATO have subsequently followed.