KönigsbergKönigsberg (ˈkøːnɪçsbɛʁk, King's mountain) was the historic German and Prussian name of the city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. It was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussian settlement Twangste by the Teutonic Knights during the Baltic Crusades. It was named in honour of King Ottokar II of Bohemia, who led a campaign against the pagan Old Prussians, a Baltic tribe. A Baltic port city, it successively became the capital of the State of the Teutonic Order, the Duchy of Prussia and the provinces of East Prussia and Prussia.
KlaipėdaKlaipėda (ˈkleɪpɛdə; ˈkɫɐɪpjeːdɐ; Memel; Kłajpeda; Клайпеда; Klaipieda) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. It is the third largest city and the capital of its eponymous county, as well as the only major seaport in Lithuania. The city has a complex recorded history, partially due to the combined regional importance of the usually ice-free Port of Klaipėda at the mouth of the river Akmena-Danë.
Neman, RussiaNeman (Не́ман; Ragnit; Ragainė), is a town and the administrative center of Nemansky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located in the historic region of Lithuania Minor, on the steep southern bank of the Neman River, where it forms the Russian border with the Klaipėda Region in Lithuania, and northeast of Kaliningrad, the administrative center of the oblast. Population figures: Ragnita (from Old Prussian: ragas, "spur"), founded in 1288, was a settlement of the Baltic (Old Prussian) tribe of Skalvians.
Sovetsk, Kaliningrad OblastSovetsk (Сове́тск; Tilsit; Old Prussian: Tilzi; Tilžė; Tylża) is a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the south bank of the Neman River which forms the border with Lithuania. Sovetsk lies in the historic region of Lithuania Minor at the confluence of the Tylzha and Neman rivers. Panemunė in Lithuania was formerly a suburb of the town; after Germany's defeat in World War I, the trans-Neman suburb was detached from Tilsit (with the rest of the Klaipėda Region) in 1920.
BaltiyskBaltiysk (Балти́йск; Pillau; Old Prussian: Pillawa; Piliava; Yiddish: פּילאַווע, Pilave) is a seaport town and the administrative center of Baltiysky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the northern part of the Vistula Spit, on the shore of the Strait of Baltiysk separating the Vistula Lagoon from Gdańsk Bay. Population: Baltiysk, the westernmost town in Russia, is a major base of the Russian Navy's Baltic Fleet and is connected to St. Petersburg by ferry.
ŠiauliaiŠiauliai (ʃaʊˈleɪ; ɕɛʊ̯ˈljɛɪ̯ˑ; Šiaulē) is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 108,000 in 2023. From 1994 to 2010 it was the capital of Šiauliai County. Šiauliai is referred to by various names in different languages: Samogitian Šiaulē, Latvian Saule (historic) and Šauļi (modern), German (outdated) Schaulen, ˈʃaʊ̯lən, Polish Szawle, Russian Шавли (Shavli – historic) and Шяуля́й (Shyaulyai – modern), Yiddish שאַװל (Shavel). The city was first mentioned in written sources as Soule in Livonian Order chronicles describing the Battle of Saule.
Russian invasion of UkraineOn 24 February 2022, in an escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War which began in 2014. The invasion has killed tens of thousands on both sides. Russian forces have been responsible for mass civilian casualties and for torturing captured Ukrainian soldiers. By June 2022, about 8 million Ukrainians had been internally displaced. More than 8.2 million had fled the country by May 2023, becoming Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. Extensive environmental damage, widely described as ecocide, contributed to food crises worldwide.
PanevėžysPanevėžys (pɐnjɛvjeːˈʑiːs; Latin: Panevezen; Poniewież; פּאָנעװעזש, Ponevezh; see also other names) is the fifth largest city in Lithuania. As of 2011, it occupied with 113,653 inhabitants. As defined by Eurostat, the population of Panevėžys functional urban area, that stretches beyond the city limits, is estimated at 127,471 (as of 2017) The largest multifunctional arena in Panevėžys, Cido Arena, hosted the Eurobasket 2011 group matches. The city is still known in the Jewish world for the eponymous Ponevezh Yeshiva.
ChernyakhovskChernyakhovsk (Черняхо́вск, formerly until 1946 known as Insterburg, ; И́нстербург; Įsrutis; Wystruć) is a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, and the administrative center of Chernyakhovsky District. Located at the confluence of the Instruch and Angrapa rivers, which unite to become the Pregolya river below Chernyakhovsk, the town had a population in 2017 of 36,423. Insterburg was founded in 1337 by the Teutonic Knights on the site of a former Old Prussian fortification when Dietrich von Altenburg, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, built a castle called Insterburg following the Prussian Crusade.
Kaliningrad OblastKaliningrad Oblast (Калининградская область) is the westernmost federal subject of the Russian Federation. It is a semi-exclave situated on the Baltic Sea. The largest city and administrative centre of the province (oblast) is the city of Kaliningrad, formerly known as Königsberg. The port city of Baltiysk is Russia's only port on the Baltic Sea that remains ice-free in winter. Kaliningrad Oblast had a population of roughly 1 million in the Russian Census of 2021.
