Is Kaliningrad, Russia’s exclave surrounded by EU countries, an asset or a liability?

Editor’s note: On June 21st Russia threatened to punish Lithuania with actions that would have a “serious impact” after the Baltic state blocked the transport of some goods to and from Kaliningrad across its own territory. Lithuania says it is enforcing EU sanctions which came into effect on June 17th. The Kremlin called the move “openly hostile” and summoned the EU ambassador to Russia.

IN MAY, AS part of a naval drill, more than 100 Russian soldiers in Kaliningrad pretended to fire nuclear rockets at imagined enemy positions in Europe. Russia often uses the exclave to threaten Europe. Unlike many of the country’s ports it remains ice-free year-round and is home to its Baltic fleet. Sweden fears a naval attack from Kaliningrad on Gotland, an island in the Baltic Sea. NATO worries that Russia could invade Poland and Lithuania to create a land corridor from the territory to Belarus. But in the event of war with NATO, the exclave could cause problems for Russia. How did it come to control Kaliningrad, and is it an asset or a liability?