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Obwód Kaliningradzki wobec przemian w Europie Bałtyckiej

(IGiPZ PAN, 1999) Palmowski, Tadeusz; Uniwersytet Gdański, Wydział Oceanografii i Geografii, Instytut Geografii, Katedra Geografii Rozwoju Regionalnego

Kaliningrad - a Russian enclave located on the Baltic Sea, neighbouring with Poland and Lithuania, is a worldwide political and legal oddity. The position of Kaliningrad is unique historically, economically and geopolitically. The region has a status of a f r e e economic zone and since 1996 of a special economic zone Economic problems appearing after dispersion of the USSR specifically affected an economic collapse of the enclave. The district of Kaliningrad belongs to the most militarised regions of Russia. Russian generals stress that the military and strategic role of the Kaliningrad district is much more important for Russia than its economic meaning. The shift of NATO eastwards and accession to the European Union of the countries f r om the close neighbourhood of Kaliningrad not only will not sharpen sufficiently complicated inner problems of the district, but they will allow the region to get softly into 'the situation of new Europe' without secession from Russia. According to the Governor L. Gorbenko, there are justified grounds to call Kaliningrad the Russian gate to Europe. As whole Russia will not be able to join the European community, so, according to A. Tuczyński, it can afford to create such a legal system and such conditions to make Kaliningrad (as an inseparable part of Russia) able to j o in it. Yet guarantees by Moscow are indispensable here. Whereas in Moscow Kaliningrad is perceived as a region of a future economic growth. According to evaluations by Scandinavian and German political scientists, the enlargement of NATO and the European Union eastwards will positively affect the district of Kaliningrad in a longer run. Searches how to solve the problem of the Russian enclave should be still carried out especially in Russia itself and in the District of Kaliningrad. Warsaw, Berlin, Stockholm and the European Union in their policies towards Kaliningrad adhere to the principles of inviolability of borders, disarmament and economic growth. Only 'europeisation' i.e. inclusion into European economic and cultural structures, and according to J. Zaleski - 'baltication' of Kaliningrad is the only wise solution. This opinion is also shared by the author of the paper. Russia, which so far has not officially shown such a readiness, may become convinced, by means of diplomatic negotiations, to recognise the only reason for the further fate of the enclave and make it the Russian region within the European Union. Despite signing the agreement between NATO and Russia, the road from resignation from confrontation to a universe cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty will be very long. Only economically strong and integrated Baltic Europe has an opportunity to be present on the map of united Europe in the 21st century.

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Bałtyckie porty Rosji i perspektywy ich rozwoju

(Komisja Geografii Komunikacji PTG, 1999) Palmowski, Tadeusz; Katedra Geografii Rozwoju Regionalnego, Instytut Geografii, Wydział Oceanografii i Geografii, Uniwersytet Gdański

After disintegration of the USSR the State lost ca. 50% of its sea ports. The ports that remained under Russia's control are to the great extent old-fashioned and underinvested. The loss of ports of Tallinn, Riga and Klaipeda was the reason for concentration of servicing Russian international shipments on the Baltic in the three ports of St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad and Vyborg. Transhipment capabilities of Russia's sea trade ports on the Baltic are presently estimated to be 20m tons and they have turned out to be insufficient for the country. Accordingly, a decision has been taken to increase such capabilities and to build new ports. The development programme assumes that before 2005 all import and export cargoes should be serviced by own ports. The modernisation plan for St. Petersburg assumes building of new container terminals, universal and specialist transhipment complexes, including a new base for liquid fuels, sugar, heavy and large cargoes. Its transhipment capabilities are to be increased up to 29m tons yearly. Within rebuilding of the port complex several new transhipment ports come to being around Sankt Petersburg. The most important of them are: Ust-Luga, Batareynaya, Primorsk, Lomonosov and Kronshtadt. Minor ports are: Bronka, Gorskaya and Otradnoye. The rebuilding programme for Russian ports also forecasts an increase in transhipment capabilities of the ports: Vyborg up to 3m tons and Vysotsk - up to 4m tons yearly. The planned investments are a new wood port, two terminals for transhipment of metals and a general cargo terminal. Growth forecasts for the port of Kaliningrad assume an increase in transhipments up to 6.7m tons in 2000 and 11-12m tons in 2005. The disastrous condition of economy in the District of Kaliningrad and a difficult economic situation in Belarus - constituting a potential supply base for the port, suggest that such forecast should be assumed very carefully. The present political and economic situation in Russia makes a large gap between projects to build new ports and to modernise the existing ones, and their implementation. Plans concerning building new ports in Russia are often wishful declarations for potential investors. Russian investors do not have sufficient capital; Western entrepreneurs fear to invest their capital in Russia. In 1994 there was a decision to separate the operation of ports from their ownership status, i.e. the proprietary right of the State to premises, port infrastructure, grounds and waters. It contributed to flourishing of criminal activity and corruption in Russian ports, and competence of new authorities is not strictly specified.

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