Ruch graniczny z Polski do Obwodu Kaliningradzkiego na tle pozostałych odcinków zewnętrznej granicy Unii Europejskiej

The purpose of the paper is to present the cross-border mobility of Poles in a broader context of social, economic changes and formal and political conditions. The mobility of Poles is presented on the example of border traffic on the Polish-Russian border. We compare the situation on the border with Kaliningrad oblast with other sections of the eastern border. We focus on number of crossings and the movement of passenger and heavy good vehicles based on the data of the Border Guard. The conclusions are as follows: the intensity of border traffic was conditioned by both formal and legal changes as well as the economic situation on both sides of the state border. In the period from 1990, intensive travels of Poles to the Kaliningrad oblast were carried out: (1) from the mid-1990s until Poland's accession to the European Union; (2) during the operation of local border traffic, i.e. in the years 2012-2016.

Value added tax in case of exports from the special economic zone in the Kaliningrad Oblast

Subject. The article focuses on the value added tax in case of exports from the special economic zone in the Kaliningrad Oblast. Objectives. We study methodological aspects of VAT in case of exports from the special economic zone in the Kaliningrad Oblast. Methods. We conducted the content analysis of available sources. The comparative analysis helped confirm the reasonableness, reliability and the relevance of methodological guidelines for determining economically adequate tax implications in terms of VAT in case of exports from the special economic zone in the Kaliningrad Oblast. Results. Importing foreign goods into the special economic zone of the Kaliningrad region and letting them pass the customs procedure of free economic zones, a Kaliningrad-registered legal entity was found to exempt from customs payments, including VAT as part of customs payments under the above procedure. Being transported to elsewhere in the EAEU, any goods in the free economic zone should be treated as foreign goods, unless their status as the EAEU goods is corroborated with documents. The effective tax and customs regulations provide for VAT to be paid on imports into the Russian Federation, including as part of customs payments, and subsequently VAT on the sale of goods in the Russian Federation. VAT on imports, inter alia, as part of customs payments is subject to tax deductions as per Articles 171, 172 of the Russian Tax Code. Conclusions and Relevance. The taxation mechanism herein is identical to that applying to exports from the free economic zone to elsewhere in the customs area of the EAEU if there were not tax clauses envisaged in Federal Law № 72-ФЗ. Hence, the above clauses seem reasonable to be excluded.

Environmental Impact of Geosynthetics in Coastal Protection

Geosynthetic materials are applied in measures for coastal protection. Weathering or any damage of constructions, as shown by a field study in Kaliningrad Oblast (Russia), could lead to the littering of the beach or the sea (marine littering) and the discharge of possibly harmful additives into the marine environment. The ageing behavior of a widely used geotextile made of polypropylene was studied by artificial accelerated ageing in water-filled autoclaves at temperatures of 30 to 80 °C and pressures of 10 to 50 bar. Tensile strength tests were used to evaluate the progress of ageing, concluding that temperature rather than pressure was the main factor influencing the ageing of geotextiles. Using a modified Arrhenius equation, it was possible to calculate the half-life for the loss of 50% of the strain, which corresponds to approximately 330 years. Dynamic surface leaching and ecotoxicological tests were performed to determine the possible release of contaminants. No harmful effects on the test organisms were observed.

Life cycle of the regional innovation system of Primorsky Region

Differences between the territories in economic-geographical situation, socioeconomic development, and political conditions of economic activity, the accumulated knowledgebase and competences, generate nonuniformity of the innovation space, where each region is unique and has its own innovative trajectory of innovative development trajectory. The subject of this research is the the process of formation and development of the regional innovation system (RIS) of Primorsky Region. The hypothesis is advanced that the RIS of Primorsky Region has certain peculiarities substantiated by the impact of economic-geographical location, which are reflected in engraining the specificity of marine management in localized innovation processes. The object of this research is the Kaliningrad Oblast located on the coast of the Baltic Sea. The article covers the period from 1945 to 1990, which allowed determining the peculiarities of the three stages of the life cycle of RIS  (origin, development, and maturity), as well as assessing the influence of the factor of coastal location  upon them. The author examines the qualitative and statistical data that characterize the five components of RIS: human resources, infrastructure, research and development, innovation environment, and framework conditions. The novelty of this work lies in application of comprehensive approach towards studying life cycle of RIS in its structural complexity in different time periods, as well as in consideration of coastal specificity of the economy. It is demonstrated that the RIS of Kaliningrad Oblast of the Soviet period specialized in marine management, formed as a result of concerted efforts of the government.

Polish language as an element of identity (on the example of statements by Poles and Russians from Kaliningrad Oblast)12

The article discusses the issue of Polish language as an element of identity of Poles and Russians living in Kaliningrad. The authors, during a visit to the University of Immanuel Kant, had the opportunity to do interviews with Poles and Russians living in Kaliningrad, for whom Polishis an important element of identity. The authors divided the respondents into two groups for whom Polish is an element of inherited identity and for whom Polish is an element of identity acquired in the education process. These analyzes precede reflections on the specifics and history ofKaliningr ad and the kaliningrad district.

Soviet War Memorials in Kaliningrad and the Evolution of Historical Memory (Mid-20th – Early 21th Centuries)

На основе изучения объектов военно-исторического наследия, архивных материалов, прессы анализируется эволюция исторической памяти о Второй мировой войне в советском Калининграде. Цель исследования – выявление содержания и региональной специфики военно-мемориального наследия советского времени. Прослежена трансформация облика мемориалов в память о героях и жертвах Великой Отечественной войны, рассмотрены нереализованные проекты и дискуссии о символическом содержании памятников, выявлены региональные особенности мемориализации событий военного времени. В рамках историко-культурологического подхода использовались сравнительный и типологический методы. Автор приходит к выводу, что военно-мемориальный ландшафт Калининграда формировался в русле общенационального исторического нарратива, но для культурно-исторической самоидентификации прибывших сюда переселенцев памятники воинской славы имели гораздо большее значение, чем в любом другом регионе страны. War memorials are important for preserving the historical memory of the people’s feat during the Great Patriotic War. The territory of Kaliningrad Oblast (formerly East Prussia) was a zone of bloody battles in 1945. Currently, there are 44 memorials to Soviet heroes and victims of the war in Kaliningrad; they have not been studied systematically. The article aims to trace the history of the creation of the war memorial heritage of the Soviet era in Kaliningrad and to identify its content and regional specifics. The research is based on published and archival documents of the State Archive of Kaliningrad Oblast: decisions of the authorities, materials of public organizations, local newspapers. In the framework of the general historical and cultural approach, comparative and typological research methods were used in the research. The author characterizes the first monuments to the fallen Soviet soldiers that appeared immediately after the war, including the memorial ensemble dedicated to 1,200 soldiers of the 11th Guards Army who died during the storming of the city; considers issues related to the legal status of monuments in the post-war period; studies the changes in the politics of memory in the 1960s and its manifestations at the regional level (construction of new monuments, museification of memorial sites). He analyzes public discussions of the 1960s around the construction of the main war monument in Kaliningrad and describes its proposed projects. The author describes the initiative of a number of Soviet commanders to build a memorial panorama museum in Kaliningrad and reveals the reason for its failure. He studies the increase in the number of war memorials in the region in the 1970s and 1980s and notes that it coincides with the anniversary dates of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. He analyzes public initiatives to install monuments in the years of Perestroika and during the formation of the new Russian statehood (late 20th – early 21st centuries); gives the periodization of the formation of the Kaliningrad memorial landscape; reveals the regional features of the memorialization of the wartime events. The author concludes that today the Soviet war memorials in Kaliningrad are an instrument of patriotic education based on the military traditions of the older generations. They contribute to the cultural and historical self-identification of the inhabitants of the only Russian exclave and are an important component of the identity of Kaliningraders.

Long-term tendencies in variations of hydro-meteorological characteristics in Kaliningrad Oblast

The variability (1901–2018) of the average annual values of air temperature, precipitation and sea level with climate averaging (within 30-year climatic periods with a shift of the 30- year “window” in 10-year increments) was analyzed for the coastal zone of the Kaliningrad Oblast (the territory of Russia in the southeastern part of the Baltic Sea). It was found that their synchronous increase was identified in the second half of the twentieth century (from the 1950s), intensified in 1961–1990 and, especially, in 1991–2018. This increase provides an apparently high correlation coefficients between the time variations of the 30-year average of these parameters (r = 0.70÷0.95), although in fact this synchronous increase is a response to external (for the region) impact. Considering the link between the variations of 30-year averages around the lines of their positive trends, it was found that this link (a) is extremely weak for precipitation and air temperature (r = 0.10); (b) is weak for sea level and precipitation (r = 0.48); and is rather high for sea level and air temperature (r = 0.85). Analysis of changes in average annual values of these parameters within 30-years periods showed that trends for the air temperature and sea level were extreme in the last period (1991–2018). A more detailed consideration of changes in the average annual temperature, precipitation and sea level over 15-year half-periods within time of growth (1961–2018) showed that the main increase occurred in the first half of this interval, and this increase was slightly slowed down in the second half. The increase in average annual air temperature is mainly due to an increase in temperature in winter and spring, which is associated with a decrease in contrast between seasons. The ambiguity of the contribution of extreme levels to the growth of the average annual level (4.5 cm/decade) was shown for 1961–2018: the positive trends of the minimum level was 3.4 cm/decade, and for the maximum level – 1.2 cm/decade. It was noted that the main increase in the average annual level was due to the growth of the level in the winter period. The reason may be an increase in the number of warm and humid winters due to general climate warming.