Border between Lithuania and Russia

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Boundary marker of Lithuania.svg
Boundary marker of Russia.svg


LT
RU
Lithuania – Russia

The Lithuanian-Russian border is an international border between the Kaliningrad Oblast , an exclave of Russia ( CIS and CSTO member), and Lithuania (member of the EU , NATO and the Schengen Agreement ). This part of the EU's external border runs from west to south-east, from the Baltic Sea to the triangle between Lithuania, Russia and Poland . The total length of the state border is 266.0 km, of which 29.9 km overland, 206.0 km through rivers and 30.1 km through lakes. In addition, there is an interstate maritime border delimiting the sovereign territories from 22.4 km west into the Baltic Sea.

Overview map of the Kaliningrad region

The border sections over land are equipped with technical facilities (wire fences, fortifications and restricted zones). Most of the border sections barely had a fence until 2014, at most in some places near streets or villages (e.g. near Wystiten ). As a result of the Russian-supported attacks in eastern Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea , there were clear disruptions from 2014 onwards due to stricter controls on goods that are subject to embargoes and an increased need for security. Sanctions, restrictions and political concerns hampered border traffic. In early 2017, the Lithuanian government announced plans to strengthen the Kaliningrad / Ramoniškiai border crossing and other land borders with a fence financed by NATO , which many experts consider to be ineffective and in view of increasing military activities in the border area of ​​the Russian side and political tensions in the region considered too expensive. It is doubted that this fence is a sufficient defense.

history

Wittine passing the Königin-Luise-Brücke in Tilsit in 1911
Border crossing to Lithuania in 1930
Memel Bridge to Lithuania in 1939
Queen Luise Bridge over the Memel in Tilsit (2008)
Coin (2017)

The historical borders between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Russian Empire changed considerably over the course of history and bore little resemblance to modern borders.

The current Lithuanian-Russian border was established after the Second World War. For the most part, it follows the older border between the former German province of East Prussia in the south with Russia in the north.

In 1923 the Klaipėda region ( Memelland ) was transferred to Lithuania and in 1939 Lithuania was forced to cede it to the German Reich . In 1945 the south side (East Prussia) of the border was taken over by the Soviet Union as Kaliningrad Oblast and the north side as the Lithuanian part of the Soviet Union . Thus it was an internal union border between the RSFSR and the Lithuanian SSR . It is noteworthy that before 1917, at times for a long time, it was a border with Russia to the northeast. Russia is currently in the southwest.

From August 1991, Lithuania became independent after the collapse of the USSR, which made this border between the former Union republics international again. In 1997, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Lithuania signed a border agreement that eliminated absurdities at the border. For example, Lake Wystiter was divided between states, with the entire area of ​​the water surface being Russian. Fishermen and swimmers often injured the border from the Lithuanian side, which occasionally led to unpleasant actions by Russian border officials. Now the water area near the bank is Lithuanian. In return, Russia received the corresponding territorial compensation in other border areas. The contract came into force in 2003.

Border area

Crossing the border to Lithuania requires a visa under European Union law ( Schengen Agreement ) or a Russian visa to Russia.

Small border traffic

An agreement on " local border traffic ", such as that between Poland and Russia, which has since been suspended, did not exist between Lithuania and Russia. Only at the regional level is there travel relief for residents of the neighboring border areas. Some projects were planned across borders and partially implemented.

Borderline

Distinctive points of the borderline (from west to southeast)  Map with all coordinates of the borderline: OSMf1Georeferencing
RussiaFlag of Russia.svgRussia Kaliningrad Oblast
Kaliningrad OblastFlag of Kaliningrad Oblast.svg 		⇄ LithuaniaFlag of Lithuania.svgLithuania position
sea Maritime border of the territories sea
 55 ° 23 '  N , 20 ° 39'  E
Border crossing Curonian Spit ( Russian Погранпереход Куршская Коса ), Morskoje (Морско́е) (Pillkoppen) 27A-076
Р515
Truck + car.svg
 167 PKP Nida (Nidden, Gem. Spit) 55 ° 16 ′ 47 "  N , 20 ° 57 ′ 50"  E
EV13-Logo.svg R1 Logo.jpg EV10-Logo.svg
Fahrrad.svg
 EV10-Logo.svg R1 Logo.jpg EV13-Logo.svg
Куршский залив (Kurschski saliw) Watercourse Curonian Lagoon Haff
 Kuršių marios 55 ° 15 '  N , 21 ° 8'  E
Ibenwerder Rajon Slawsk (Heinrichswalde) formerly the district of Heydekrug Watercourse Just east east ragimnis eastWatercourse

 Helena Werder , šilutė district municipality (Heydekrug) , district Klaipėda (Memel) former district Heydekrug 55 ° 15 ′ 3 ″  N , 21 ° 17 ′ 25 ″  E
Brijoniškės (Elkwinkel) ( Russian Зелёный Мыс ) , formerly the Moose Lowlands district Watercourse Skirwiet / Ruß-Strom ↓ Memel ↓ ( Lithuanian Nemunas , Russian Неман )Watercourse
Watercourse Watercourse

 Rusnė (Soot) , Šilutė Rajong Municipality (Heydekrug) 55 ° 17 ′ 38 "  N , 21 ° 23 ′ 2"  E
Sowjetsk
( Russian Советск , Tilsit ) 		Ban Bahn.svg
Sovetsk – Klaipeda railway line
 Pagėgiai (Pogegen) 55 ° 5 ′ 27 "  N , 21 ° 53 ′ 12"  E
pedestrian bicycle
 Panemunė (Übermemel) 55 ° 5 ′ 1 ″  N , 21 ° 54 ′ 21 ″  E
A216 E77 international long-distance transport
 A12 E77 55 ° 4 ′ 33 "  N , 21 ° 57 ′ 21"  E
Pogranitschny
(until 1938 Schillehnen, 1938–1945 Waldheide, Russian Пограничный),Krasnosnamensk Rajon(until 1938 Lasdehnen district, 1938–1945 Haselberg district) 		Watercourse↑ Memel ↑ ↓ Šešupė ↓ ( Scheschuppe , Russian Шешупе )Watercourse

WatercourseWatercourse

 Smalininkai ( Schmalleningken ) , Tauragė (Tauroggen) District 55 ° 4 ′ 13 "  N , 22 ° 35 ′ 21"  E
27K-105 CAR + WHEEL + FOOTG.svg
 184 PKP Ramoniškiai near Sudargas (Sudargen) 55 ° 3 ′ 35 "  N , 22 ° 35 ′ 30"  E
Dickiauten , desert in the Krasnosnamensk Raion Minsk – Kaliningrad pipeline
 Šilgaliai (Schillgallen) , district of Šakiai 54 ° 56 ′ 9 ″  N , 22 ° 45 ′ 58 ″  E
Kutusowo ( Schirwindt , Russian Кутузово ) Watercourse↑ Šešupė ↑ ↓ Širvinta ↓ ( Schirwindt , Russian Шервинта ) Watercourse

WatercourseWatercourse
 ( Kudirkos Naumiestis ) (Schirwindt-Neustad) 54 ° 46 ′ 40 "  N , 22 ° 51 ′ 34"  E
← 27A-012 Traffic ban Traffic ban
 138 → 54 ° 46 ′ 34 "  N , 22 ° 51 ′ 18"  E
earlier pimples ( image widening ) Watercourse↑ Širvinta ↑ ↓ Old Schirwind ↓Watercourse
WatercourseWatercourse
 near Stanaičiai , district Vilkaviškis 54 ° 41 ′ 4 "  N , 22 ° 43 ′ 35"  E
Watercourse↑ Alte Schirwind ↑ ↓ Liepona ↓ ( Lepone , Russian Лепона Lepona )Watercourse

WatercourseWatercourse

 54 ° 40 ′ 28 "  N , 22 ° 44 ′ 25"  E
Tschernyschewskoje ( Eydtkuhnen , Russian Чернышевское ) E28Template: RSIGN / Maintenance / EU-E integration
Truck + car.svg
 A7 E28 Kybartai (Wirballen) station near Kybartai (Kibarten) , district of Vilkaviškis 54 ° 38 ′ 30 "  N , 22 ° 44 ′ 38"  E
Eisenbahn.svgBSicon TZOLLWo.svg
Kaliningrad Railway
 54 ° 38 ′ 24 "  N , 22 ° 44 ′ 49"  E
Nekrasovo , Nesterov Raion Watercourse↑ Liepona ↑ ( Lepone , Russian Лепона Lepona )Watercourse

 Kurpikai , Kybartai County, Vilkaviškis District Parish 54 ° 33 ′ 50 "  N , 22 ° 42 ′ 48"  E
Maloje Belosernoje ( Kleiner Kallweitschen , Russian Малое Белозерное ) Traffic ban Traffic ban
 Vištytis (Wystiten) , district Vilkaviškis (Wilkowischken) 54 ° 27 ′ 13 "  N , 22 ° 42 ′ 11"  E
Wystiter hill country , Rominter Heide , Rajon Nesterow Watercourse Wystiter See ( Lithuanian Vištyčio ežeras , Russian Виштынецкое озеро Wischtynezkoje osero )Watercourse

 54 ° 25 ′ 21 ″  N , 22 ° 44 ′ 46 ″  E
The tri-border region between Poland  , Lithuania  and RussiaPolandFlag of Poland.svgLithuaniaFlag of Lithuania.svgRussiaFlag of Russia.svg 54 ° 21 ′ 48 "  N , 22 ° 47 ′ 31"  E
Queen Luise Bridge

  • Border on the Curonian Spit

  • Border control Rybachi (Рыбачий) (Rossitten) , border Morskoye - Nida

  • Railway bridge Lithuania - Russia

  • Border buoy on the Wysiter See

  • Closed border bridge near Kutuzovo (2011)

  • Border PKP Panemunė

  • Railway bridge over the border river Memel

  • The triangle between Lithuania, Poland and Russia

Remarks

  1. ↑ Border expansion:
    • Peter Mühlbauer: Lithuania: Fence planned on the border with the Russian part of East Prussia. In: TELEPOLIS. heise online , January 17, 2017, accessed on May 26, 2019 : “The Lithuanian Interior Minister Eimutis Misiūnas has announced that it will be building a two-meter-high and about 130-kilometer-long fence on the currently rather moderately secured border with the Russian part of East Prussia in the spring which should be finished this year - to "strengthen the external border of the European Union" and to combat smuggling. The EU (25 million euros) and Lithuania (3.6 million euros) share the total costs of 28.6 million euros. "
    • Tilman Bünz: A fence against Russia. (Video) In: Focus on Europe. DW-TV , 2017, accessed on May 26, 2019 : “Lithuania secures its border with the Russian exclave Kaliningrad with a two meter high fence. The country wants to protect itself with this - from smugglers and from Russia. "
    • Christopher Woody: Lithuania is building a border fence amid Russia fears - even though it would do little to stop an invasion. In: Business Insider. Retrieved May 21, 2019 .
    • Daniel Boffey: We know how to live next to Russia. Lithuania builds border fence with Kaliningrad. In: the Guardian. August 24, 2017, accessed May 26, 2019 .
    • Rebecca Flood: Red line for Russia. Lithuania builds fence along border as relations with Putin Sour. In: Daily Express . Express Newspapers, August 24, 2017, accessed on May 26, 2019 (English): "LITHUANIA has built a border fence with neighbor Russia as relations sour between the two countries"
  2. ↑ 3-ruble coin of the Bank of Russia, silver, reverse side - "Королева Луиза", - Bridge, Sovetsk. The picture of the Memel Bridge, in the background on the right the Lithuanian bank - inscription: «г. СОВЕТСК » ( Sowjetsk ) , at the bottom at the edge: МОСТ" КОРОЛЕВА ЛУИЗА "( German  bridge" Queen Louise " )
  3. ↑ Even in Soviet times there was little traffic across the border between the two Soviet republics, although the borders were open. The historically and geographically determined infrastructure of the area was not geared towards neighborhood traffic, as it is mostly separated by water. In addition, the USSR devastated many of the former German settlements on the border - even after the end of the war. Former German neighbors were replaced by strangers from other parts of the Soviet Union or the area remained depopulated. Thus the demand for small border traffic was not as pronounced as e.g. B. on the border between Russia and Poland. With its membership in the European Union in 2004, Lithuania also introduced visas for regional and transit traffic.
  4. ↑ Land furthest point of the common maritime border of the territories in the territorial sea . This border is important because the Kravtsovskoye oil field with considerable oil and gas deposits is located in the sea area.
  5. ↑ On the Lithuanian side, the LT5 cycle route around the northern lagoon begins . Part of this route is a ferry passage.
  6. ↑ The total area of ​​the lagoon is 1,584 km²; of which only 415 km² belong to Lithuania, the rest to Russia.
  7. ↑ Границу будут переносить. 1tv.lv, accessed on July 7, 2019 (Russian, border change). Wittinnis Ost (river) at GOV Skirwieth left delta arm of the soot (at GOV) border between Lithuania and Russia in the State Water Register of the Russian Federation (Russian)
  8. ↑ There used to be a ferry connection via Skirwiet
    • Rusnė - soot. Ostpreußen.net, 2011, accessed on July 7, 2019 .
    • Soot : fishing village near Heydekrug
  9. ↑ a b The valley path of the Memel is partly the border between Lithuania and Russia. In addition to the transition in Tilsit, there were numerous passenger and vehicle ferries across the river, in some cases until Lithuania became independent. B. at Jasnoje , genwiki: Groß Schilleningken , Šilininkai (Klaipėda) . In winter, the Memel is usually heavily iced and illegally passable on foot or with vehicles. The city of the same name, Memel (now Lithuanian Klaipėda ), near the mouth of the river, but 50 km from the border, was Germany's northernmost city until 2019. The northernmost town in Germany was 15 km further north: The Glutton .
    • Memel. Northernmost city in Germany. deutsche-schutzgebiete.de, 2000, accessed on July 15, 2019 (English).
  10. ↑ This previously important railway connection is no longer active due to the dilapidation of the bridge and several sections of the route. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, international passenger traffic between Sovetsk and Pagėgiai was discontinued in 1996. A reactivation did not go beyond declarations of intent.
  11. ↑ a b Meanwhile the bridge is only open to pedestrians; Since 2017, traffic has been routed east of Panemunė via the Sovetsk bypass (on the Lithuanian side A21 ). The Memel is crossed over a newly built bridge.
  12. ↑ a b Partial border flow. Since the 15th century, the Šešupė, together with the tributaries Širvinta and Liepona, has marked one of the most stable borders in Europe, although the neighboring states have changed several times.
  13. ↑ Formerly Waldheide customs office . Exclusively bilateral border crossing, only for Russian and Lithuanian citizens with a national passport
  14. ↑ Important supply line, which runs via Belarus in transit through Lithuania. Because of the growing differences since the Crimean crisis, Russia fears that Lithuania could cut ties. Therefore, a gas terminal was built in the Baltic Sea off Königsberg. Since the transport with gas tankers by sea is significantly more expensive, the system is only kept in place for emergencies.
  15. ↑ In the course there are interruptions in the river boundary due to straightening. To the east of it lies a large military area: Dobrovolsky lies on the border with Lithuania and is the only training area in the Kaliningrad region that is suitable for training flight personnel in fire and tactics and that meets all safety requirements. The latter is important: The Kaliningrad region is small, densely populated by Russian standards and borders on two countries - Lithuania and Poland - with all of their strategies. There are many flight movements in this airspace. All of this places high demands on the quality of airspace observation and navigation accuracy. The Russian military facilities allow the launch of rockets and guided missiles with bombs weighing up to 1500 kg, with the assumption that nuclear weapons are also deposited.
  16. ↑ The border bridge over the Širvinta is closed due to disrepair. It was the easternmost town and the smallest town in the German Empire. Schirwindt was the first German town to be occupied by the Red Army in 1944 . It remained the only city in Europe that was not rebuilt after the war.
  17. ↑ a b The border follows the partly canalised old course of the Schirwindt for about 2.5 km . The place Schirwindt was the easternmost city of the German Empire
    • Schirwindt. Easternmost city in Germany. deutsche-schutzgebiete.de, 2000, accessed on July 15, 2019 : "Schirwindt 1302 inhabitants - 1905, smallest and easternmost city in East Prussia and in the Kingdom of Prussia"
    • City of Schirwindt at GenWiki
  18. ↑ a b Boundary river for 22.9 km, of which about 900 m through the Matlaukis pond created in 1980. About 12 hectares of the pond are located on Lithuanian territory.
  19. ^ Railway line Kaliningrad – Nesterow , Kaliningrad – Chernyshevskoye , section of the former Prussian Eastern Railway . Trains run daily between Vilnius and Kaliningrad. The travel time is almost seven hours. There are regular passenger train connections to Saint Petersburg , Moscow and, during the season, a few trips to Adler on the Black Sea . The goods and military transports that come with strict conditions in transit via Belarus and Lithuania represent a considerable volume of traffic .
  20. ↑ The place was divided, but after a border correction and area swap the village was reunited in 2003 with the exception of a farmhouse.
    • Sheet 78: Kalinino in Russia , Kaliningrad Oblast, 1910; 78: flour. - Recorded in 1863, ed. 1868, recognoscirt 1883, new edition 1888, sing. Nachtr. 1910. - Berlin, 1910. - 1 ct .: multicolored.
    • Vištytis. May 8, 2009, Retrieved July 13, 2019 (Lithuanian).
  21. ↑ At 172.4 m above sea level, it is the highest lake in Lithuania and 4000 years older than the Baltic Sea. It is not only the largest and deepest lake in the Suvalkija region with a volume of 258 million cubic meters of fresh water, but also the cleanest. It is not for nothing that Lake Wystiter is often referred to as the "European Lake Baikal ". The lake belonged completely to the German Empire (East Prussia) right up to the Lithuanian bank. At times the Lithuanians were given a small fishing zone off the north bank. After the war, the lake fell into the Kaliningrad Oblast. In the USSR, the border was only of administrative importance, so the lake was freely accessible from all sides. After the secession of Lithuania, the entire lake belonged to Russia. Fishermen and swimmers often crossed the border from the Lithuanian side, which occasionally led to unpleasant actions by Russian border officials. The state border between Lithuania and Russia (Kaliningrad region) now runs - according to a treaty between the two countries in 1997 - across the lake. The total area of ​​the lake is 17.83 km², of which 12.39 km² are in Russia and 5.44 km² belong to Lithuania. The Lithuanian part increased by 0.4 km2 after the ratification of the Russian-Lithuanian border agreement on the exchange of territory in 2003. Lithuania wants to lease another 525 hectares of lake from Russia. So far (after 13 years) a contract has not been concluded. The lake is a popular destination for excursions and swimming. On the Lithuanian side there is a national park with a small pilgrimage site at an allegedly miraculous spring. The Russian side can only be visited by citizens of Kaliningrad Oblast with a special permit.

economy

There is smuggling on the Russian-Lithuanian border and a semi-legal 'shuttle' trade in cheaper Russian and Belarusian goods that are exported to Lithuania for resale. Cigarettes and alcohol are particularly popular, as is fuel. In the opposite direction are high quality goods. z. B. Electronic and household appliances brought to Russia. Although the Russian side of the border is largely secured, illegal traffickers in Lithuania who seem to bypass the controls with good relations are repeatedly caught on the "green border".

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ * Пограничник Геннадиюс Кузнецовас: литовцы готовы умереть, чтобы заработать на российских сихарр. In: NEWSru.com. December 7, 2017, Retrieved May 21, 2019 (Russian).