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Since 1945, the Kaliningrad Oblast ((ロシア語:Калинингра́дская о́бласть), ''Kaliningradskaya oblast'') has been a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), on the Baltic coast. It is an exclave, with no land connection to the rest of Russia. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 941,873. Kaliningrad Oblast lies in the northern part of historical East Prussia (German: ''Nord-Ostpreußen''). It was once inhabited by the Sambians (speakers of the old Baltic language). They became extinct around 17th century, after they were conquered by the Teutonic Knights and exposed to assimilation and Germanization. Then it was a part of the Prussian state and of Germany until 1945. That year, it was conquered by the Soviet Union and annexed into it under border changes promulgated in the Potsdam Agreement, when it was attached to the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. The other two-thirds of East Prussia were annexed by Poland and form the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. Most of its German population were killed or fled westward to what would become West and East Germany during the last months of the war. Others were expelled between 1944 and 1950. Since 1945, ethnic Russians settled the province, and have become the majority group. The Soviet government offered the territory to the Lithuanian SSR during the 1950s and, in the Gorbachev era, to Germany in 1990 (against payment); both offers were refused. The offer to Germany had been made secretly, and the Kaliningrad Russians were furious to learn of the talks. The oblast forms the westernmost part of Russia. Surrounded by Poland to the south, Lithuania to the east and north, and the Baltic Sea to the west, Kaliningrad Oblast has no land connection to the rest of Russia. Since its creation after World War II, it has been a Russian exclave, first of the Russian SFSR and then of the Russian Federation. The fall of the Soviet Union, and Poland's and Lithuania's subsequent joining the European Union and NATO as well as their entering the Schengen Zone have left Kaliningrad increasingly isolated from the rest of Russia. Visa-free travel to the main part of Russia is only possible by sea or air. The oblast's largest city and administrative center is Kaliningrad (formerly Königsberg), which has historical significance as both a major city of the historical state of Prussia and the capital of the former German province of East Prussia. Königsberg was renamed after the Soviet head of state Mikhail Kalinin. Currently, Kaliningrad Oblast is one of Russia's best performing regional economies, bolstered by a low manufacturing tax rate as set by its "Special Economic Zone" (SEZ) status, which was issued by Moscow. , one in three televisions in Russia are made in Kaliningrad. The territory's population is one of the few in Russia that is expected to show strong growth during the early 21st century. ==Geography== Kaliningrad Oblast is an exclave of Russia surrounded by Poland, Lithuania and the Baltic Sea. Its largest river is the Pregolya. It starts as a confluence of the Instruch and the Angrapa and drains into the Baltic Sea through the Vistula Lagoon. Its length under the name of Pregolya is 123 km (76 mi), 292 km (181 mi), including the Angrapa. Notable geographical features include: *Curonian Lagoon (shared with Lithuania) *Vistula Lagoon (shared with Poland) Major cities and towns: † Pre-1946 (the German-language names were also used in English in this period) 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Kaliningrad Oblast」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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