Alienated Land or Phantom Europe

After the Second World War, the victorious powers redrew the borders and spheres of influence across Europe. It was then that former East Prussia — a German territory with its historic capital Königsberg — was placed under Soviet control by decision of the Potsdam Conference and incorporated into the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. First as a new administrative region, and later under a new name: Kaliningrad Region (map).

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Kaliningrad effectively became a Russian exclave. It borders Lithuania (EU) on one side, Poland (EU) on two others, and the Baltic Sea on the fourth. It has no land connection with mainland Russia.

With a camera and a notebook, I traveled along the border with Poland, visiting small settlements while trying to avoid border checkpoints and encounters with the “guardians of the exclave.” I listened to what people say and observed how they live in this alienated territory more than eighty years after the war.

Oleg Klimov, freelance photographer. Kaliningrad Region, 2-3 March 2026.

To be continued...

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