D

IN V EN T IN G NEW H IS TORY F OR NEW PEO P L E: D

C REAT IN G T H E H IS TORY O F T H E K A L ININ G RA D D IS T RI C T
A F T ER 1 9 9 2

K a s tyt i s A n ta n a i t i s ISSN 1392-0588

2013. 60

S U M M ARY. Because of the elimination policy of the German history, no history of the East-
ern Prussia was produced during the Soviet times. Books about the Prussian history published
before 1992 were of poor quality. A new generation of the Kaliningrad inhabitants with strong
local identity emerged at the end of the 20th century. Demands for the regional history grew
and some attempts to write the history of Prussia were made. In the 21st century, textbooks The
History of the Western Russia were prepared according to the project financed and supported by
the Russian Federation’s central administration. Although the textbooks have certain shortcom-
ings, they are used to teach the history of the region.
K E Y WOR D S : historiography, the Kaliningrad district history, the Eastern Prussia, history
teaching, 20th-21st centuries, historical identity.

The Kaliningrad district (Russian: Калининградская Область) is a part of the

Eastern Prussia’s region1. Now, it is an exclave of the Russian Federation with
certain administrative, cultural and national differences from the rest of the Rus-
sian Federation. First of all, if we would compare the Kaliningrad district with
other districts or republics of the Russian Federation, it is obvious that the terri-
tory of Kaliningrad and the number of its inhabitants are very small. According
to the Census of 2010, the Kaliningrad district’s population is about 950.000
(941,873) persons i.e. one of the smallest in the European parts of Russia. The
dominant majority of the population is of the Russian origin, whereas the largest
non-Slavic group is of the Lithuanian origin (1.1% or about 10.000 persons).
77.5 % of the population lives in towns, mostly (441.376) in Kaliningrad city
(Russian: Калининград, Polish: Królewiec, German: Königsberg, Lithuanian:

1 The article is written according to the research project “Central and Eastern European Region: Research
of the Construction of National Narratives and Politics of Memory (1989-2011)” – VP1-3.1-ŠMM-07-K-
02-024 – sponsored by the Programme for Human Resources Development for 2007-2013 “Support to
Research Activities of Scientists and Other Researchers (Global Grant)”.
281
K a s tyt i s A n ta n a i t i s

Karaliaučius).2 At the same time, the local population is very different from other
regions of Russia. During the Soviet times, the Kaliningrad district was made the
first and the only atheistic territory in the USSR.3 In 1945, about 130.000 Ger-
mans survived in the Konigsberg region, but because of the famine and diseases,
large numbers of people died. Finally, in 1947-1950, almost all of them (about
103.000 survivors) were deported to Germany.4 Naturally, an absolute majority
of the Kaliningrad district’s inhabitants are migrants from the USSR who came
to the district after the Second World War. However, the colonization of the
district after the removal of the survived German population was very slow and
complicated. As a result, today, only about half of the population can be descri-
bed as local people (местное население) i.e. people who came to the Kaliningrad
district more than 40 years ago or were born in the district. According to the
opinion of the governor of the Kaliningrad district Nikolaij Cukanov (Николай
Цуканов), people who are born in the Kaliningrad district constitute about one
third of the population.5 The majority of the Kaliningradians are newcomers
who, in most cases, had no connections with the Eastern Prussia or did not know
anything about Prussia, Kaliningrad or Konigsberg before settling in the district.
Even the so-called old-timers (especially the older generation) are not very much
interested in the Eastern Prussian history. They rather identify themselves with
popular people who lived in the region (for example, a singer Oleg Gazmaniov, a
cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, or an actor Evgenij Griskovec) or with the history of
the Second World War, but not with the Eastern Prussia or the Prussian history.6
At the same time, a majority of the newcomers (very often they are people with
past experiences in the state administration, army or fleet service) are not interes-
ted in the local history at all.7
The legal migration rate in the Kaliningrad district is one of the highest in Rus-
sia. A constant influx of such migrants is encouraged by the Russian Federation.

2 Date from official page of the Russian Federation 2010 census databank in: <http://www.gks.ru/free_doc/
new_site/perepis2010/croc/perepis_itogi1612.htm>.
3 Костяшов Юрий. Советизация Восточной Пруссии после войны in Mažoji Lietuva: paribio kultūros
tyrimai. Vilnius: Petro ofsetas, 2012. P. 188.
4 Костяшов Юрий. Советизация Восточной Пруссии после войны in Mažoji Lietuva: paribio kultūros
tyrimai. Vilnius: Petro ofsetas, 2012. P. 196.
5 Interview of the information agency Regnum.ru journalist with governor Nikolai Cukanov С кем в ЕС конку-
рирует Калининградская область in 2013 in: <http://www.regnum.ru/news/tourism/1731958.html>.
6 Кривошеев В. В. Историческое сознание студенческой молодежи: итоги опроса в калининградских ву-
зах in Вестник Балтийского Федерального университета им. И. Канта. 2012. Вып. 6. C. 85-89.
7 Sociological research done by research group CIRKON (ЦИРКОН) on the request of the special representative
of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitrij Rogozin (Дмитрий Рогозин) in 2002 «Калининградская
проблема» В зеркале общественного мнения: <http://www.zircon.ru/upload/iblock/f7d/Kaliningradskaja_
problema_v_zerkale_obshhestvennogo_mnenija.pdf>.
282
 IN V EN T IN G NE W H IS TORY F OR NE W   P EO P L E :
C REAT IN G T H E H IS TORY O F T H E K A L ININ G RA D D IS T RI C T A F T ER 1 9 9 2

Even the Slavic migrants to the Kaliningrad district are not culturally homogene-
ous. In 1991-2002, the Russian migrants from the Central Asian and other former
republics of the USSR had made up almost 10 % of the Kaliningrad district’s
population.8 In 2004, the so-called Federal State Migration Program of the Russian
Federation was launched.9 According to the program, in the last four years, Russia
expected about 300.000 new migrants to come to the Kaliningrad district.10 Such
a huge wave of migration could rapidly change the population of the Kaliningrad
district. However, the program was not successful because of insufficient funding
from the federal budget.11 During the last ten years, only 20.000 migrants came to
the district. Even minor migration from the Central Asian states, Ukraine, Belo-
russia and Latvia was a huge burden for the budget of the Kaliningrad district.
At present, about ¼ of the migrants still have not found a constant living place
or a job. The majority of the new migrants had remarkably low social adaptation
abilities. Thus, in 2013, the Duma of the Kaliningrad district (Duma – in Russia,
elected local council of the town or district) decided to cut off social funds for the
new-comers and made all possible decisions to stop migration of the poor and
socially defected people.12
At the same time, the numbers of the Kaliningradians who do not identify them-
selves with the rest of Russia, mostly because of the low contact intensity with the
mainland Russia, increased. Almost half of the Kaliningradians have never been to
Russia or at least had not visited the Russian Federation after the dissolution of the
USSR. Many describe themselves as some special kind of the Russians or even do
not associate themselves with Russia at all.13 In 1993-2003, there even existed pro-
western and democratic local political autonomist movements (about 10.000 mem-
bers and supporters). The most influential was The Baltic Republican Party (BRP)
Балтийская Республиканская Партия (БРП). In 2003, the party was suppressed
and dissolved by the Vladimir Putin government and the party leaders and members
were and still are persecuted as separatists and extremists. In 2005, the BRP members

8 Клемешев А. П., Козлов С. Д. Г. М. Федоров. Особая территория России. Калининград: Изд-во КГУ,
2003. C. 93.
9 Information for the migrants – Калининградская область – памятка соотечественнику in: <http://emi-
grant-ussr.ru/index/kaliningradskaja_oblast_pamjatka_sootechestvenniku/0-111>.
10 Article in Kaliningrad-online.Ru - В Калининградской области стартует переселенческая программа
(2007.05.23) in: <http://www.kaliningrad-online.ru/articles0/8263.html>.
11 One of cause was very high (up to 14,5% per year) interest rate for the housing and relocation credits in Ka­
liningrad – Переселение соотечественников: запрограммированный провал (2007-09-21) in: <http://www.
rosbalt.ru/main/2007/09/21/415608.html>.
12 Переселенцам в Калининград сократили «подъемные» c 60 тыx- до 20 тыx in: <http://www.kaliningrad-
city24.ru/news/181957.html>.
13 «Калининградская проблема» в зеркале общественного мнения: <http://www.zircon.ru/upload/iblock/f7d/
Kaliningradskaja_problema_v_zerkale_obshhestvennogo_mnenija.pdf> C. 31.
283
K a s tyt i s A n ta n a i t i s

changed the name of the organization to the Kaliningrad Regional Social Movement
Respublika (Калининградское региональное общественное движение РЕСПУБ-
ЛИКА). They are still under constant political and administrative pressure and have
very little influence for the local administration or political life.
At the end of the 20th century, four generations of the Kaliningradians could
be identified in the district with an immense cultural gap between the senior and
the young generations.14 According to Prof. Genadij Kretinin, in the 80’s, the third
generation of the Kaliningradians with local historical roots appeared. It was a spe-
cific community with its mentality, traditions and thoughts about identity. They
were not afraid of the German past and were ready to recognize some level of cul-
tural interaction between the German and the Russian cultures in the region.15 In
the 21st century, despite the migrants’ influence, at least some of the inhabitants
of the Kaliningrad district have strong regional identification. The demand for the
local or regional history was strong enough to change the situation inherited from
the Soviet times.
During the Soviet rule, the Kaliningrad district was administrated as a part of
Russia with zero level of cultural autonomy. An extreme anti-religion policy, ideolo-
gical suppression, and conservative Soviet type administration produced weak local
identity. However, in the 70’s, the first sings of the local historical consciousness
emerged.16 All historical researches were based on the Soviet ideology and false pre-
sumptions that Prussia is somehow connected with the ethnographic Russia. The
idea of the Russian and the Prussian Slavic identity or Prussia’s Russian origin was
born in the 18th century Russia.17 In 1943, in Teheran conference, Joseph Stalin
also declared that Konigsberg is a part of the ancient Slavic lands (“исторически –
это исконно славянские земли”).18 Thus, at least for the next 50 years there was
no need for any other discussion about the historical past of Prussia in the Soviet
Union. Any mentioning of the Prussian past was suppressed. Even history writing
or discussions about Kaliningrad after the Second World War were not tolerated.

14 Маттес Э. Региональное самосознание в Калининградской области in Калининградские архивы: Мате-

риалы и исследования. Выпуск 5. Калининград, 2003. С. 203.
15 Speech of Prof.G. Kretinin in international conference Bialystok 2012 09 28 – Доклад руководителя Бал-
тийского регионального информационно-аналитического центра РИСИ профессора Г. В. Кретинина на
международной конференции «Этно-культурная идентичность автохтонных меньшинств в пригранич-
ных районах» 27-28 сентября 2012 г. в г. Белостоке: <http://www.riss.ru/analitika/199-iz-kenigsberga-v-
kaliningrad-o-formirovanii-etnokulturnoy-identichnosti#.UsFaM1MXt-g>.
16 Маттес Э. «Останутся ли они россиянами?» Мысли историка на актуальную тему in Балтийский регион
в истории России и Европы. Калининград: Изд-во РГУ им. И. Канта, 2005. C. 227-244.
17 “…получила свое имя оть переселившихся бь десятомь веке изь Россiи вь сiю землю Прусовь…” – Краткая
Политическая Географiя . Санкть Петрбургь. Императорская академия наук, 1745. C. 208.
18 Костяшов Ю. Сталин и Калининградская область: попытка исторической реконструкции in Acta his­
torica universitatis Klaipedensis. Klaipėda: Klaipėdos universiteto leidykla 2009, T. XVIII. P. 58.
284
 IN V EN T IN G NE W H IS TORY F OR NE W   P EO P L E :
C REAT IN G T H E H IS TORY O F T H E K A L ININ G RA D D IS T RI C T A F T ER 1 9 9 2

The German past and historical memory in the Eastern Prussia were destroyed by
the Soviet administration.19 Even all the local geographical names in the Eastern
Prussia were changed by the new Russian names (it was not name Russification or
translation, but their complete renaming) with the clear purpose to eliminate any
connections with the German or the Prussian past.20
Militarization of the district life also had huge influence on the history science and
popular history writings. Under cover of the military state and border zone secrets’
protection, very little possibilities were left to write anything about the past or present
of the Kaliningrad district. The district became open for foreign visitors only in 1991.
An example of other hardships can be found in the book of a local tourism lover
V. Milovski (В.Миловский) who collected information about the tourism routes for
decades, but even in the 21th century still uses maps drawn by hand.21
Few changes occurred in the field of popular art and culture. The first documen-
tary film about Kaliningrad (after the first film The Taking of Konigsberg, in 1946)
produced after the Second World War, was screened only in the 80’s. More often,
the Kaliningrad district was used for the Soviet military film making. However,
the Soviet films did not mention exact locations and thus were not useful for the
local historical identity creators.22 In the last ten years, the numbers of the TV
and documentary films about the Kaliningrad district rapidly increased. They were
produced for different reasons and for the different groups of viewers. We were able
to identify 14 TV or documentary films. In all of them, except for tourist informa-
tion videos, military history and romantic-mystical themes dominate, such as the
never-ending search for the Amber Room, the Nazi occultism, the romantic past
of Konigsberg, and so on.
Almost the same situation as with the Soviet cinema can be observed in lite-
rature and fine arts. In general, books were written only about the Second World
War in Prussia and the rebuilding of the Kaliningrad.23 Even if not forbidden by

19 Костяшов Ю. В., Маттнес Э. Изгнание прусского духа: как формировалось историческое сознание населения
Калининградской области в послевоенные годы. Калининград: Изд-во Калининградского гос. университе-
та, 2003.
20 Бродерзен П. «Назови меня тихо по имени...» Кампания переименований в Калининградской облас-
ти в 1946–1950гг. в контексте калининградско-московских отношений послевоенного времени in Бал-
тийский регион в истории России и Европы. Калининград: Изд-во РГУ им. И. Канта, 2005. C.201-210,
Населенные пункты Калининградской области. Краткий справочьник. Калининград: Калининградское
книжное изд-во, 19. С.8-398.
21 Миловский В. А. 60 краеведческих маршрутов по Калининградской области. Калининград, 2010.
22 The Most famous of them – Encounter at the Elbe of Grigori Aleksandrov in1949; Destiny of a Man by Sergei
Bondarchuk in 1959; Father of a Soldier of Revaz Chkheidze in 1964; information about them can be found
in: <http://www.imdb.com>.
23 Some examples of the typical Soviet literature about the war and rebuilding of Kaliningrad: Бутувская С.
Город в огне, 1961; Продолжение подвига, Калининград: Калининградское книжное изд-во, 1967; Шел
солдат дорогою побед: Сб. худож. произведений о боях в Восточной Пруссии. 1944-1945. Калининград: Ка-
285
K a s tyt i s A n ta n a i t i s

censorship (institution of GLAVLIT), historical literature themes were under the

pressure of the Soviet realism method, which did not encourage any description of
the German past in the USSR. During the Soviet times, the Kaliningrad regional
history could only be found in geography textbooks or in popular geographical
literature. However, they typically included short texts with some low quality and
limited historical information.24 In geography textbooks, the Soviets tried to avoid
mentioning of the Prussian historical past by simply describing it with few words.25
In 1972, one of the Soviet geographic textbooks described the history of the cities
of the Kaliningrad district only from 1945.26
In the Kaliningrad district, no local history textbook was written or published
till the 90’s. Any kind of investigation of the Prussian past was suppressed by the
Soviet regime.27 In histories and history textbooks published during the USSR
times, Kaliningrad or Prussia were described only in one or two sentences and
only in the chapters about the times of the Northern Crusades and the outcomes
of the Seven Years’ and the Second World Wars.28 The Soviet people in general
had very little access to the sources of historical information, but in the case
of the Kaliningrad district history, these sources were extremely limited. In the
60’s and the 80’s, some historical information about the past of the Kaliningrad
district could be found only in tourism literature, mostly in tourist guides for
travel routes in the district (the first was published in 1961).29 Another type of
tourist literature, where some historical information could be found, was books
about interesting and important locations of the district. Even before the First
World War, the Russian tourists visited frequently the Eastern Prussia, thus there

лининградское книжное изд-во, 1985; Герои земли калининградской: Очерки, зарисовки, справки о Героях
Социалистического Труда. Калининград: Калининградское книжное изд-во, 1977.
24 Ваулина В. Д. Наш край: Калининградская область: Пособие по краеведению для учащихся нач. классов
общеобразоват. школ. Калининград: Калининградское книжное изд-во, 1988; Кучерявый П. П., Федо-
ров Г. М. Географии Калининградской области: Пособие по краеведению для учащихся. Калининград: Кн.
изд-во, 1988; Федоров Г. М. Знаете ли вы Калининградскую область? Калининград: Кн. изд-во, 1982;
Буруковская Т. Г. Занимательное краеведение. Калининград: Кн. изд-во, 1989.
25 For example, the history of Konigsberg in textbook is described in seven short sentences: Геофрафия Кали-
нинградской области. Учебное поссобие для 8 класса. Калининград: Калининградское Книжное Исдатель-
ство, 1965. C. 68-69.
26 Ваулина В. Д. Наш Карaй. Калининградская област. Калининград: Калининградское Книжное Исда-
тельство, 1973. C. 90-96.
27 Маттес Э. Запрещенное воспоминание. Калининград: Изд-во КГУ, 2003. С. 81-150.
28 История СССР. Учебник для 10 класса средней школы. Москва: УЧПЕДГИЗ, 1952. С. 398; История
СССР. С Древнейших времен до конца XVII Века. Москва: Высшая школа, 1983. С.149, 343-344.
29 Колганова Э. М., Колганов И. П., Иванов Ю. Н. Путешествуйте по Калининградской области. Кали-
нинград: Калининградское книжное издательство, 1961; Коротких В. Ф. , Попов С. Н. Дорогами янтар-
ного края. Справочник туриста. Калининград: Калининградское книжное издательство, 1978; Лихачёв
Н. Г. Чекан Р. В. На автомобиле по янтарному краю. Калининград: Калининградское книжное издатель-
ство, 1981.
286
 IN V EN T IN G NE W H IS TORY F OR NE W   P EO P L E :
C REAT IN G T H E H IS TORY O F T H E K A L ININ G RA D D IS T RI C T A F T ER 1 9 9 2

was a tourist guide published in the Russian language.30 The first short tourist
information books were published in the 70’s, but they were very limited and
mostly focused on the nature of the Kaliningrad district and the Soviet period
memorabilia.31 A coastal resort town Svetlogorsk (Lithuanian: Riaušiai German:
Rauschen) was a rare exception as some information about the history of the town
was included in printed books for tourists in the 60’s.32 In the 80’s, the book
series Города нашей области (Towns of Our District) described many important
urban locations of the district; most of them were described for the first time in
the Soviet times.33 Although some of the district towns were described twice in
these books, the books of this kind were minimalistic (just about 30 pages long)
with very little historical information about the pre-Soviet times.34 During the
Soviet period, some local history books were also produced. However, they were
mostly about the times before the Second World War.35 After the Soviet period,
some local histories were published about Gusev (Russian: Гусев, Lithuanian:
Gumbinė, German: Gumbinnen)36 and Sovetsk (Russian: Советск, Lithuanian:
Tilžė, German: Tilsit),37 but the majority of historical texts were almost always
devoted to Kaliningrad city.
It could be observed without exaggeration that geographical local history was,
in many cases, the foundation on which the history of the Kaliningrad district was
built.38

30 Путеводитель по Кенигсбергу и прилегающимъ морскимъ курортамъ для русскихъ путешественниковъ. Ке-

нигсбергъ: фирмa Гаазенштейн и Фоглер, 1912.
31 Щербаков Г., Солоницын А. Калининград. Калининград: Калининградское книжное изд-во, 1971; Зна-
комтесь Калининград! Калининград: Кн. изд-во, 1985; Павловский О. П. Достоин бессмертия: Герои-
ческая хроника. О героях Великой Отечественной войны, чьими именами названы улицы Калининграда.
Калининград: Кн. изд-во, 1985; Колганова Э. М., Строкин В.Н. Страницы памяти: о памятниках и
памятных местах Калинингр. обл. Калининград: Кн. изд-во, 1985; Губин А. Б. Если вы в Калининграде
впервые: Путеводитель. Калининград: Кн. изд-во, 1990.
32 Светлогорск. Калининград: Кн. изд-во, 1959; Светлогорск: Курорт Калининградского взморья. Калинин-
град: Кн. изд-во, 1960; Кутепова Н. Г. Светлогорск приглашает. Калининград: Кн. изд-во, 1988.
33 Полянский В. И., Лебедев В. И. Гусев. Калининград: Калининградское кн. изд-во 1963; Белан Н. А. Чер-
няховск. Калининград: Калининградское кн. изд-во 1964. Бирковский В. Г., Исупов B. C., Рубанович В. Я.
Советск. Калининград: Калининградское кн. изд-во 1967; Баевский И. Я., Иванов A. M. Гусев. Калинин-
град: Кн. изд-во, 1969; Калюта Н. И. Краснознаменск. Калининград: Калининградское кн. изд-во, 1971;
Беляев Ю. В., Фёдоров Г. М., Кузнецов О. А. Советск. Калининград: Калининградское кн. изд-во, 1977 .
34 Агафонов Н. Т., Егорова В. А. Светлый. Калининград: Калининградское кн. изд-во, 1974; Кольцова
И. П. Зеленоградск. Калининград: Калининградское кн. изд-во, 1974; Котов О. И. Калининград: Крат,
очерк. Калининград: Калининградское кн. изд-во, 1979.
35 Иванов А. Штрихи к биографии края. Краткий ист. очерк города. Гусев, Т.1-2.
36 Иванов А. М. Гумбиннен – Гусев. (Историко-краеведческий очерк). ОГУП Калининградское книжное из-
дательство, 2003.
37 Рутман И. Я. Из Советска в Тильзит. Советск: издательство «Наса», 1995.
38 Суворов В. С. Становление исторического краеведения Калининградской области in Проблемы истории
Восточной Пруссии: материалы конференции. Калининград: КГу, 1993. C. 3–7.
287
K a s tyt i s A n ta n a i t i s

If the general history of Prussia was forbidden or at least not encouraged, the
history of the Soviet times’ Kaliningrad was not under such strict prohibition.
The very first Soviet book about Konigsberg for millitary purposes was prodused
in 1944. In this book, Prussia was described as a territory inhabited by the Lithu-
anian tribes.39 The first books about the Kaliningrad district in the Soviet times
were published just in 1959. A very laconic text (the book was only 62 pages long)
described industry, education and agriculture of the district after the Second World
War.40At the same time, a very short illustrated book about the Soviet history of the
Kaliningrad district was published.41 For the next decade, a collection of documents
and memoirs Штурм Кенигсберга (The Storming of Konigsberg) was published and
reprinted on a regular basis.42 Some local history problems of the Soviet period
in the Kaliningrad district (such as the development of fish industry or the local
newspapers) were described in a book published in 1977.43 In 1978, after the 30
years’ jubilee of the Kaliningrad district’s establishment, a book about the history
of the Soviet Kaliningrad by the researchers of the Kaliningrad State University
was published.44 Finally, an outline of the Soviet Kaliningrad history was printed
in 1988.45 All these books were not fit for education purposes; very often they were
very boring and overfilled with the Soviet propaganda and ideological clichés.
Of course, Prussia and Kaliningrad have never been a terra incognita for the
Russian history science.46 In the last 30 years, doctoral dissertations were written
about the times of the Germanic Order in Prussia (at least 9), the Prussian arche-
ology (8), the period of the 17th-18th centuries of the Prussian history (7), and the
Soviet period problems in the Kaliningrad region (12). Even in the Soviet period,
doctoral dissertations (at least 9) focusing on the historical problems of the Kali-
ningrad district were produced, but almost all of them were about the period of

39 «...вся территория между Неманом и Вислой была неселена литовскими племенами...» - Глебов В. И. Вос-
точная Пруссия: Краткий справочник. Москва: Воениздат, 1944. C. 3.
40 Колганова Э. М., Колганов И.П. Самая западная: Краткий очерк о Калинингр. обл. Калининград: Кали-
нинградское кн. изд-во, 1959.
41 Бутовская С. Н. Калининград: иллюстрированный очерк. Калининградское кн. изд-во, 1959.
42 Штурм Кенигсберга. Калининград: Калининградское кн. изд-во, 1959; Штурм Кенигсберга. Калининг-
рад: Калининградское кн. изд-во, 1966; Штурм Кенигсберга. Калининград: Калининградское кн. изд-во,
1973.
43 Становление и развитие Калининградской области: Межвуз. Сборник. Калининград: КГУ, 1978.
44 Калининградская область: История. Экономика. Культура. Калининград: Калининградское кн. изд-во,
1978.
45 Калининградская область: очерки становления и развития. Калининград: Кн. изд-во, 1988.
46 Typical examples of the Soviet type science: Медведев Н. А. Действие и использование экономических за-
конов социализма в отдельном регионе. Калининград: Изд. КГУ, 1981; Исупов C. На этапе становления:
История Калининградской областной партийной организации в период создания и укрепления, 1946-1953.
Калининград: Кн. изд-во, 1986.
288
 IN V EN T IN G NE W H IS TORY F OR NE W   P EO P L E :
C REAT IN G T H E H IS TORY O F T H E K A L ININ G RA D D IS T RI C T A F T ER 1 9 9 2

1945-1952.47 Despite the increasing numbers, in most cases, dissertations were

and still are written not for a general reader, and are published in very small num-
bers or not published at all.
As a specific source of historical information, the Kaliningrad district museums
can be mentioned (18 of the 22 museums in the Kaliningrad district have strong
connections with the local or regional history).48 However, local museums outside
Kaliningrad city are often very young – all of them were established only after 1992
and focus only on the local history. For example, the Sovetsk City Museum was
established in 198749; the World Ocean Museum in 1990,50 The Museum of the
Baltic Fleet in Baltijsk (German: Pillau, Russian: Балтийск, Lithuanian: Piliava)
– 1992;51 The Friedland Gate Museum in Kaliningrad – 2008.52 Also, museums
have problems with the representation of the past: obviously, the military history of
the Second World War dominates. The Prussian history period before the Christian
conquest, the times of the Prussian Kingdom or the interwar period are usually
presented from the negative side. Although the oldest (established in 1946), big-
gest, and most important museum, the Kaliningrad District Museum of Art and
History, has drastically changed after the Soviet times, still it does not provide an
equal presentation of all the periods of the Eastern Prussian history.53
Historical societies or clubs of historical reconstructions have emerged during
the last decade, but they are not large, mostly based on some military history theme
and orientated at the reconstructions of the medieval times fights.54
A very important role for the creation of historical memory and the popu-
larization of the local history can be played by the local and regional historical
magazines. After1992, several magazines devoted to the local history, art and
folklore were published in the Kaliningrad district, whereas historical magazines
became popular only in the 21th century. The most significant historical, political
and social magazine in the Kaliningrad district is a magazine Балтийский Регион

47 Data found using the Database of the Russian Federation dissertations – Научная электронная библиотека
диссертаций и авторефератов in: <http://www.dissercat.com/>.
48 List and short descriptions of the local museums in the Kaliningrad district region in: <http://www.prus-
sia39.ru/sight/list.php?id=1&c=4>.
49 Site of the Sovetsk city museum in: <http://tilsit-museum.ucoz.ru/>.
50 Site of the World Ocean museum in: <http://world-ocean.ru/muzej/o-nas>.
51 Site of the museum in Basltijsk in: <http://www.museum.ru/M2038>.
52 Site of the Gate museum in: <http://fvmuseum.ru/>.
53 It has changed a lot after my last visit to this museum in 1991, but is still very much concerned with the
history of the Soviet period. The site of the museum in: <http://balticum.ucoz.ru/index/0-7>.
54 Information about the eight historical societies in Kaliningrad in: <http://day-off39.ru/interesno/istoriches-
kaya-rekonstrukciya/>; <http://www.simvolika.org/mars_020.htm and http://www.gako.name/mainsite/
clubs>.
289
K a s tyt i s A n ta n a i t i s

(The Baltic Region), published by the BFU of I. Kant. From 2009 till now, 18 issues
of this quarterly magazine have been published.55 From 2002 till 2010, six issues of
Балтийские исследования (The Baltic Studies) were published with articles on the
Prussian history.56 From 2005, articles about the Prussian history are published on
a regular basis in the magazine of the young scientists of the university Ретроспек-
тива (Retroperspective).57
From 2009, twice a year, a special issue of the Вестник БФУ им. И. Канта (The
Courier of the BFU of I.Kant) is published. Till now, 9 issues have been produced.58
Also, nine issues of a magazine Калининградские архивы (The Archives of Kalinin­
grad) have been released by the Kaliningrad District State Archive.59 A historical
popular magazine about the history of the Kaliningrad district is also published.
From 2000, eleven issues of the Балтийский альманах (The Baltic Almanach) with
seven issues of art magazine Преголя (The Pregol) were published.60 An attempt to
release local historical magazines was also made: from 2002 to 2009, six issues of
a magazine Nadrovia devoted to the historical Cherniakovsk (Lithuanian: Įsrutis,
German: Instenburg) and Gusev regions appeared.61 In 2005-2009, three issues
of arts and history magazine The Coasts of Angape were published in the Chernia-
chovsk region.62 In the Cherniakovsk newspaper Полюс + ТВ, historical informa-
tion is published on a regular basis in a specific section called Воскресение.63 At
present, the majority of the local magazines are closed. Still, regional magazines
of educational or state administration institutions have successfully survived the
financial hardships of 2008-2009. The majority of historical magazines have been
produced only in the last decade. Their role in the building of the local historical
identity in the Kaliningrad district is not very important.
Popular historical books about the history of the Konigsberg region are publis-
hed in increasing numbers. At the end of the 20th century, some popular history

55 All articles of The Baltic Region magazines can be loaded from the site of The BFU of I. Kant site in: <http://
journals.kantiana.ru/baltic_region/>.
56 Балтийские исследования Сборник научных статей. Калининград: Изд-во РГУ им. И. Канта, 2002–2010.
57 Ретроспектива. Всемирная история глазами молодых исследователей. Сборник научных статей. Кали-
нинград: Изд-во РГУ им. И. Канта, 2005–2011.
58 All articles of The Baltic Region magazines can be loaded from the site of The BFU of I.Kant site in: <http://
journals.kantiana.ru/vestnik/>.
59 Eight issues of Калининградские архивы are presented in The Kaliningrad District State Archive site - Cайт
Государственного архива Калининградской области in in: http://gako.name/mainsite/kaliningradarchives.
60 All The Pregol and The Baltic Almanach magazines issues can be found in the site of Kaliningrad city admin-
istration: <http://www.klgd.ru/city/history/>.
61 Надровия. Историко-краеведческий журнал. 2002 № 01; 2003. №02, №03; 2004 №4, №05; 2009 №06.
62 Берега Анграпы, 2005 №1; 2006 №2; 2009 №3.
63 The collection of history articles from newspaper Polius and Polius+TV „Воскресение“ в газете „Полюс +
ТВ“ in: <http://www.angrapa.info/history/5/ and http://www.angrapa.info/history/6/nav=3>.
290
 IN V EN T IN G NE W H IS TORY F OR NE W   P EO P L E :
C REAT IN G T H E H IS TORY O F T H E K A L ININ G RA D D IS T RI C T A F T ER 1 9 9 2

books about the military history or fortifications of Konigsberg were written or

translated.64 In 2005, even the histories of the Kaliningrad Cathedral and the Air-
port were published.65 Popular history books by the Russian authors about the
military operations in Prussia during the Second World War also were and are
being published.66 These books are important for education in specific fields, but
the general past of Prussia can hardly be learned only from them.
Support for the creation of the regional history from the local administration
of the governor and the Kaliningrad District Duma is scarce. The governors of
the districts in Russia are appointed from the Federal center in Moscow (from
the President Office). From 2005 till 2010, a businessman Georgij Boss (Георгий
Босс), who had no connections with Kaliningrad before taking the office, held
the position of the governor. The governor promoted and supported an idea to
introduce a new course of the regional history to the Kaliningrad district schools.
The Kaliningrad district government had even allocated funds for teacher training,
history anthology and history atlas publishing and the development of the online
version of the workbook.67 However, even he was not able to finance the creation
of the new history textbooks. In 2010, the governor’s position was taken by Nikolai
Cukanov (Николай Цуканов). Although born in the Kaliningrad district, he had
little interest in history because of his education background in agriculture.68 The
Kaliningrad district Duma also gave little support for the local history because of
the fears of the German past, the Nazi revenge or even of the growth of separatism
in Kaliningrad. These exaggerations are not surprising because the Kaliningrad dis-
trict Duma is a result of the administrative manipulations and falsifications during
the elections. In the Duma, there are 37 representatives: the ruling Putinists’ party
Единая Россия has 23 representatives, the Communists – 9, and other four parties
have 2 representatives each (pro-western opposition is represented by only two
members of the Гражданская платформа).69 An illustrative example of the high
64 Овсянов Авенир. В казематах королевского форта. Янтарный сказ: Калининград, 1999; Трауготт Эр-
хардт. История крепости Кенигсберг в Восточной Пруссии 1257-1945. Москва, 1997. Бахтин А. П. Замки
и укрепления Немецкого ордена в северной части Восточной Пруссии: справочник. Терра Балтика, 2005.
65 Валерий Цветков. Полет из Кенигсберга в Калининград: история и современность старейшего аэропор-
та Европы. Калининград: Янтарный сказ, 2005; Одинцов И. А. Кафедральный собор в Калининграде.
Калининград: Янтарный сказ, 2005.
66 The best examples of the such books: Якимов С. А. Хроника штурма Пиллау. Калининград: ИП Мишут-
кина, 2007; Черенин О. В. Шпионский Кёнигсберг. Операции спецслужб Германии, Польши и СССР в Вос-
точной Пруссии. 1924–1942. Москва: Вече, 2012; Пржездомский А.С. Секретные бункеры Кёнигсберга.
Москва: Вече, 2011; Гольчиков А.С. Поле боя – Прусия. Калининград: ООО «Умножение», 2005.
67 Interview with the Kaliningrad history program curator Natalja Strogonova – Западная Россия: забытая
история in: <http://upr.1september.ru/article.php?ID=200800415>.
68 Information about the Kaliningrad district governors’ background from site of the Kaliningrad District
Governor: <http://gubernator.gov39.ru/>.
69 The representatives of the Kaliningrad District Duma: <http://duma39.ru/duma/fractions/index.php>.
291
K a s tyt i s A n ta n a i t i s

level of paranoiac attitudes to the Prussian past in Duma was demonstrated in the
case of the restitution of churches. When the Russian Orthodox Church asked
for the two castles in the Kaliningrad district, in 2009,70 the Kaliningrad district
Duma gave seven of the nine survived ruins of the German Order’s castles and
remains of 14 Lutheran churches to the Russian Orthodox Church in October 28,
2010.71 Such surprisingly generous decision was caused by fear that the mediaeval
buildings can be retaken by the Catholics or the Lutherans. The district governor
N.Cukanov declared later that the decision saved these buildings for Russia and Kali­
ningradians.72 When the regional history teaching in the secondary schools of the
Kaliningrad district started, negative reactions and fears were expressed that it will
be history of the German Order.73
Summarizing, it can be said that in the Kaliningrad district, there is no popular
cultural demand for the local history. History learning, historical identity or histo-
rical mentality of the local population is only partly based on the knowledge of the
historical past of the Eastern Prussia.
The initiatives to write and teach regional history came not from the local com-
munity, but from above (сверху) – from Moscow. The very name of the Russian
Federation and the Constitution declare and suppose that Russia is (or at least
should be) a federal state with strong regional or local self government.74 For cen-
turies, strong ethnographical regional identities (the Pomors, the Ural Russian,
the Siberian Russians, etc.) and very strong national identities of the nations in
the republics with some degree of autonomy (Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Mari-El,
Chechnya, Dagestan, etc.) existed in Russia. Their demands for the local national
history forced the Russian Federation accept the model of a three part history
teaching. In the secondary schools of the Russian Federation, history is learned in
the following way: the world history, the Russian history and the regional history.

70 Information of ИА REGNUM Новости 2009 07 10: <http://www.regnum.ru/news/1184983.html>.

71 Text of Duma decision О безвозмездной передаче в собственность централизованной религиозной органи-
зации «Калининградская епархия Русской Православной Церкви (Московский патриархат)» объектов
религиозного назначения, находящихся в государственной собственности Калининградской области (При-
нят Калининградской областной Думой четвертого созыва 28.10.2010 года) in: <http://www.regionz.ru/
index.php?ds=860858>; 2012 10 28 Новый Калининград.Ru information: <http://www.newkaliningrad.
ru/news/community/1160174-.html>.
72 Я спас для России и для калининградцев в частности эти сооружения – 2011 01 18 information of cor-
respondend of Новый Калининград.Ru in: <http://www.newkaliningrad.ru/news/community/1195006-
tsukanov-ya-spas-dlya-rossii-i-kaliningradtsev-eti-sooruzheniya.html>.
73 Examples of the extreme negative reactions: Ильина Яна Плевки В Прошлое (2007.05.22) in: <http://
www.dvornik.ru/issue/579/11211/>; Kaliningrad radio station “Русский край” radio show transcribed text
of Васильевич Александр Нерусская история “Западной России” in: <http://www.rusbeseda.ru/index.
php?topic=1836.0>; wap2.
74 The third paragraph of the Constitution declares multinational type of the Russian Federation, fifth – fed-
eral state system, Конституция Российской Федерации. Москва: Юридическая литература, 2009.
292
 IN V EN T IN G NE W H IS TORY F OR NE W   P EO P L E :
C REAT IN G T H E H IS TORY O F T H E K A L ININ G RA D D IS T RI C T A F T ER 1 9 9 2

The regional history component was created only 6-7 years ago and is still not
developed to the adequate level to satisfy the demands of the non-Slavic nations of
Russia.75 A demand for the regional history courses and regional history textbooks
at the federal level administration of the Russian Federation gave an opportunity
for the local historians to create local history teaching programs and regional his-
tory synthetic textbooks using finances from the federal funds. According to the
federal program of education development in the Russian Federation 2006-2010, a
complex project for the course of the West Russian history had to be prepared. The
winner «ОЛМА Медиа Групп» had to publish a signal edition of 300 textbooks.
For the writing work, «ОЛМА Медиа Групп» contacted the historians of the BFU
of I. Kant.76
The demands of the Russian federal policy and the financial support from the
federal funds was very important and cannot be underestimated, because the finan-
cial support from the Kaliningrad district governor’s administration, the district’s
Duma or local community was insignificant or very small. In any case, it would not
be sufficient for the creation of educational programs, the writing of the Eastern
Prussia’s history and textbook publishing.
Of course, the Kaliningrad district had certain background for the regional
history teaching. First of all, after the fall of the Soviet regime or even during
the Perestroika period, the demand for the local history in the Kaliningrad district
was huge. To satisfy the needs of the people, old Prussian histories were reprinted
and translated to the Russian language at the beginning of the 20th century. Most
famous of the reprints was The Outline of the Prussian History by a French historian
Ernest Lavisse.77 Another way was to translate foreign histories of Prussia into Rus-
sian – in 1994, a book written by a contemporary German historian Fritz Gauze
was reprinted. It was a short nostalgic history of the Konigsberg city from the 13th
century till the 90’s of the 20th century.78
Finally, during the last year of the Soviet regime, the Russian historians and
editors became free enough to publish any histories about the Prussian or German

75 Newspaper Комсомолская правда interview with Prof. Alexander Chabarian (2012.05.03) – Орехов Игорь,
Профессор Александр Чубарьян: В учебниках полный разнобой по оценке истории России последних лет in:
<http://www.kp.ru/daily/25878/2841402/?geo=1>.
76 The Kaliningrad Ministry of Education information – Министерство образования Экспертно-консуль-
тационный совет при Министерстве образования Калининградской области рассмотрел учебно-ме-
тодические пособия по региональным программам (2008-02-01) in: <http://gov.kaliningrad.ru/index.
php?action=news&nid=3696>.
77 Лависсь Э. Очерки по истории Пруссии. Москва: Издание М. и С. Сабашниковых, 1915 reprinted in
Kaliningrad, 1990; modern Russian orthography version and new translation: Лависс Эрнест. Очерки по
истории Пруссии. Reprinted 2003 and 2011.
78 Гаузе Фриц. Кёнигсберг в Пруссии. История одного европейского города. Reklingchauzen; Bitter: Геттинген-
ский Исследовательский центр, 1994.
293
K a s tyt i s A n ta n a i t i s

past of the Kaliningrad district. In 1991, the first Russian book about the German
Order’s rule in the Eastern Prussia was published.79 At the same time, in 1991, the
first Russian Kaliningrad cities’ history The Konigsberg History Outline was printed,
but it was only a short history of the Kaliningrad region (the history of Konigsberg
ended in 1945).80
The biggest problem with the history of modern times is a lack of the published
primary sources about the history of the Kaliningrad region – the German archives
were evacuated or destroyed, whereas the Soviet archives were closed for historical
research till 1992. The published German sources are usually not translated into
Russian. Publications of the Soviet times can be described only as some kind of
statistical material.81 There was one exception: in 1980, the Archives’ department
of the district’s Executive committee issued a four volume publication of the docu-
ments about the history of Kaliningrad during the Soviet times.82 Only in 2004,
the first scientifically valid collection of historical sources about the Soviet history
of the Kaliningrad district was published.83 Also, in 2004, after ten years of post-
ponement, the results of the oral history project (1991) about the first Soviet inha-
bitants in Kaliningrad were published.84
At that time, even the conservative local state administration understood the
importance of the local regional history. Thus, at the end of 1990, the Executive
Committee of the Kaliningrad district had created a special научно-творческая
лаборатория (a creative science laboratory) in the State Archive of the Kaliningrad
district, which consisted of a group of scientists who had to write the Prussian
history book called От древних пруссов до наших дней (From the Ancient Prussians
Till Our Days) under the supervision of a medieval history professor V. S. Yusupov
(В. С. Исупов). From the end of 1993, the leader of the group of seven scientists
became G. Scheglova (Г. И. Щеглова).85 The scientists (mostly from the Kaliningrad
79 Лавринович К. К. Орден крестоносцев в Пруссии. Калининград, 1991.
80 Губин А. Б., Строкин В. Н. Очерки истории Кёнигсберга. Калининград: Калининградское книжное изда-
тельство, 1991.
81 Загрева В. Л. Калининград: справочник, справочник, справочник, справочник, справочник. Калининград:
Калининградское книжное изд-во, 1977.
82 Самая западная: Сборник документов и материалов о становлении и развитии Калининградской облас-
ти. Калининград: Калининградское кн. изд-во, 1980. Самая западная: 1952-1961. Калининград: Кали-
нинградское книжное изд-во, 1987.
83 Маслов В.Н. В начале нового пути: Документы и материалы о развитии Калининградской области в годы
деятельности чрезвычайных органов управления (апрель 1945 июнь 1947). Калининград: Изд-во ИП Ми-
шуткиной И. В., 2004.
84 Восточная Пруссия глазами советских переселенцев. Первые годы Калининградской области в воспомина-
ниях и документах. Санкт-Петербург: Бельведер, 2004.
85 Members of the group were almost all archeologists or historians who wrote about the Prussian past:
В. С. Исупов, В. И. Кулаков, К. К. Лавриновичь, В. В. Сергеев, В. И. Гальцов, М. А. Клемешев, Г. В. Кре-
тинин.
294
 IN V EN T IN G NE W H IS TORY F OR NE W   P EO P L E :
C REAT IN G T H E H IS TORY O F T H E K A L ININ G RA D D IS T RI C T A F T ER 1 9 9 2

University) decided not to write the History of Prussia, but limit themselves only
to a shorter and lighter version of the Prussian history outline.86 In 1996, after five
years of work, the first book which can be called the Russian history of the Eastern
Prussia, was finally printed. Восточная Пруссия: С древнейших времен до конца
второй мировой (The Eastern Prussia. From the Ancient Times till the End of the
Second World War) described the history of Prussia, but ended with the beginning
of the Soviet period. Thus it was not very useful as a basis for the construction of
historical identity for the Kaliningrad district dwellers who inhabited the Eastern
Prussia after the Second World War. The text was written as a popular history
with many maps and illustrations in a rather belletristic style. The Early Mediae-
val times in Prussia were often described using unreliable or even falsified sources
produced in the 17th-19th centuries. Because of all of these problems, this history
could not be used as a textbook for university students or for teachers in schools.87
Despite the evident shortcomings, to a certain extent, this history was better than
other histories, because the historians were freer to express their ideas without the
inner censorship or pressure from the state or the ruling party. Also, it is worth
mentioning that the majority of historians who wrote The Eastern Prussia book
later participated in the creation of other histories and historical handbooks of the
Kaliningrad district.
The idea of Kaliningrad regional history survived in the History Department of
the Baltic Federal University of I.Kant. The History Department in the Kalinin-
grad State University was established in 1979; at that time, the history students of
the BFU had one course of local (the Eastern Prussian) history. Earlier, in the 80’s,
under a supervision of Vasilij Birkovskij (Бирковский Василий Гаврилович), two
short textbooks were produced. However, they had little scientific value, were too
short (just about a hundred pages’ long) and mostly focused on the Soviet period.88
At present, there are considerably more courses of the Prussian history at the BFU
of I.Kant, especially for the students of the Local History profile, established in the
Baltic History Department, in 1992. In 2002, mostly for the academic needs of the
students, another book of the Kaliningrad district history An Outline of the Eastern

86 Overview of the Prussian history researches by G. Kretinin 2010.03.27 Кретинин В. Г. История Восточной
Пруссии и Калининградской области – состояние и перспективы in: <http://www.gako.name/mainsite/
kaliningradarchives/-1/279-2010-03-27-11-57-48>.
87 Восточная Пруссия: С древнейших времен до конца второй мировой войны. В. И. Гальцов, В. С. Исупов,
В. И. Кулаков. Калининград: Калининградское кн. изд-во, 1996.
88 История края (1945-1950): Учеб. пособие для студентов-историков. Калинингр. ун-та . Калининград:
КГУ, 1984; Бирковский В. Г. История Калининградской области, 1951-1965: учебное пособие для сту-
дентов-историков Калининградского университета. Калининград: Калининградский государственный
университет, 1986; Бирковский В. Г., Исупов В. С., Фарутин И. А. История нашего края. Калининград:
Калининградское книжное изд-во, 1990.
295
K a s tyt i s A n ta n a i t i s

Prussia’s History89 was produced by a group of authors under the supervision of the
BFU historian, Professor Genadij Kretinin (Генадий Кретинин).90
At the same time, in 2006, another group of scientists with Prof. Andrej Kle-
meshev (Андрей Клемeшeв), a specialist of Austrian history who now specializes
on the problems of Kaliningrad exclave,91 also wrote The History of the Kaliningrad
District in 1991-2006.92 Naturally, both professors used an opportunity to take
part in the creation of the first textbooks for the school course The History of the
Western Russia in 2006-2007. Prof. Andrej Klemeshev was not only the author of
history book and textbooks, but also the rector of the BFU of I.Kant. Evidently, the
administrative support for the textbook writing project from the most important
educational center of the Kaliningrad district was guaranteed. The financial gains
from the federal funds also played a certain role. As a result, in 2012, the rector of
the BFU of I.Kant had more than 3.4 million rubles of income (which is a lot even
in comparison with the rectors of the largest Lithuanian universities)93 and some
problems with the exams and student admission to the University (he was accused
by some journalists with corruption for accepting the children of the local admi-
nistration authorities to the University without proper exam grades).94 In any case,
Professor A. Klemeshev demonstrated good abilities to make money and influence
administrators of the state institutions.
Because there alread were different outlines or histories of the Eastern Prussia’s
past from the earlier years, mostly produced by the same historians, the history for
the schoolchildren was written very quickly. From 2006-2007, the Kaliningrad
district’s regional history is taught at schools in three major blocs (two years long
each) with three The History of the West Russia textbooks (each about 200 pages’
long). In 6th-7th forms, the past of Prussia is taught from pre-history till the end of
the 17th century, 8th-9th forms study history from the 18th century till 1945, and
10th-11th forms learn the Soviet period history. Prof. Genadij Kretinin wrote text-
books for 6th-7th and 8th-9th forms and took part in the creation of the textbook for

89 Очерки истории Восточной Пруссии. Калинингр­ад: Янтарный сказ, 2002.

90 Biography of Prof. G. Kretinin <http://www.kantiana.ru/humanities/chair/biogr_istor/krit.php>.
91 Клемешев А. П. Калининградский соцюм в европейском контексте. Изд-во Калининградского гос. уни-
верситета, 2002; Biography of Prof. A.Klemeshev: <http://www.kantiana.ru/history/politologija/sostav/
Klemeshev.php>.
92 История Западной России. Калининградская область: история края, 1991-2006 годы: политическое и
социально-экономическое развитие региона : учебное пособие для учителей школ. Калининград: Изд-во
Российского государственного университета им. И. Канта, 2006.
93 Information about the income of rectors can be obtained from The Russian Ministry of Education site in:
<http://минобрнауки.рф/%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8/3432>.
94 Gossips about corruption – Министр образования РФ заинтересовался нашим БФУ им. Канта (2012-08-14)
in: <http://www.svobodnykaliningrad.com/sluhi/1117-ministr-obrazovaniya-rf-zainteresovalsya-nashim-bfu-im-
kanta.html>.
296
 IN V EN T IN G NE W H IS TORY F OR NE W   P EO P L E :
C REAT IN G T H E H IS TORY O F T H E K A L ININ G RA D D IS T RI C T A F T ER 1 9 9 2

the 10th-11th forms. However, all textbooks and all other additional material were
published under the supervision of Prof. Andrej Klemeshev.95 All these textbooks
and additional texts for the students and teachers can be described, analyzed and
interpreted as a huge historical narrative about the past of the northern part of
Prussia.
After some limited testing in several schools in 2006, the following year, the
history of the Western Russia was prepared as a learning complex for schools with
teacher reeducation (almost 500 of them attended special courses)96, teachers’ lear-
ning books97 and workbooks,98 class activities’ plans and extra curriculum activi-
ties. From January 1, 2008, all the schools in district started classes of the Kalinin-
grad district regional history.99 In 2013, all the efforts of the Kaliningrad district
historians and teachers were evaluated as very good, and the Kaliningrad district
regional history teaching system is now promoted as a good example for all other
Russian regions.100 It can only be guessed that support from Moscow and high
evaluations have something to do with the BFU rector prof. A. Klemashev’s con-
nections with the federal level scientists and education administrators. It should be
observed that the head of an important institution in the Russian Federation, Ale-
xander Chubarian (Чубарьян Александр Оганович),101 the director of the Russian
Institute of the World History of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Институт
всеобщей истории РАН) and one of the major Russian history textbook and history

95 Кретинин Г. В. История западной России. Калининградская область. Учебник 6–7 классы. Под ред.
А. П. Клемешева. Москва: ОЛМА Медиа Групп, 2007; Кретинин Г. В. История западной России. Ка-
лининградская область. Учебник 8–9 классы. Под ред. Клемешева А. П. Москва: ОЛМА Медиа Групп,
2007; Клемешев А. П., Костяшов Ю. В., Федоров Г. М. История западной России. Калининградская об-
ласть. Учебник 10–11 классы. Москва: ОЛМА Медиа Групп, 2007.
96 Министерство образования Экспертно-консультационный совет при Министерстве образования
Калининградской области рассмотрел учебно-методические пособия по региональным программам
(2008-02-01) in: <http://gov.kaliningrad.ru/index.php?action=news&nid=3696>.
97 История западной России. Калининградская область: Учебно-методическое пособие для учителей. 6–7
классы. Москва: ОЛМА Медиа Групп, 2007; История западной России. Калининградская область: Учеб-
но-методическое пособие для учителей. 8–9 классы. Москва: ОЛМА Медиа Групп, 2007; История запад-
ной России. Калининградская область: Учебно-методическое пособие для учителей. 10–11 классы. Москва:
ОЛМА Медиа Групп, 2007.
98 История западной России. Калининградская область: Рабочая тетрадь. 6–7 классы. Москва: ОЛМА
Медиа Групп, 2007; История западной России. Калининградская область: Рабочая тетрадь. 8–9 классы.
Москва: ОЛМА Медиа Групп, 2007; Костяшов Ю. В., Федоров Г. М., Зверев Ю. М., Никулина Н. Ю.
История западной России. Калининградская область: Рабочая тетрадь. 10–11 классы. Москва: ОЛМА
Медиа Групп, 2007.
99 Никулина Н.Ю. К вопросу о региональном самосознании in Калининградские архивы. Калининград, 2004.
Выпуск 6. С. 209-214.
100 Newspaper Комсомолская правда interview with Prof. Alexander Chabarian (2012.05.03) – Орехов Игорь,
Профессор Александр Чубарьян: В учебниках полный разнобой по оценке истории России последних лет in:
<http://www.kp.ru/daily/25878/2841402/?geo=1>.
101 Short biography of Prof. Alexander Chubarian in the site of the Russian Institute of the World History in:
<http://igh.ru/book/authors/chubaryan-alexander-oganovich/>.
297
K a s tyt i s A n ta n a i t i s

education experts, in February of 2012 became a member of board of supervisors

and scientific head of the Institute of Baltic Research (Институт балтийских
исследований)102 in the BFU of I.Kant.
The History of the Western Russia books were supported by three Associate Pro-
fessors from the Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences103 and harshly cri-
ticized by an ethnologist Assoc.Prof. Ramūnas Trimakas, in a Lithuanian history
magazine Istorija. In the polemic article On the Issue of “Western Russia“: Imperial
Memory and History Teaching, R. Trimakas described The History Of the Western
Russia as some reflection of the contemporary imperialistic revanchist discourse in
Russia, based on the old 19th century concept of the North-Western Russia, and
full with the Soviet time clichés in the books.104
It is probably true that in many Russian popular history books and even in
pro-Putinists’ history textbooks we can easily find imperialistic or chauvinistic
themes,105 but in the case of The History Of The Western Russia textbooks, it is pro-
bably an exaggeration.
Some problems of The History of the Western Russia textbooks are pre-determi-
ned by certain factors. A permanent problem of all history textbooks, especially
schoolbooks, is simplification. Everywhere, teachers are challenged with the pro-
blem of how to explain the complicated issues to children and the only way beco-
mes the reduction of information to the level children can understand. In schools,
teaching about the history of ancient times, prehistory and ethno-genesis usually
suffers most. In the case of The History of the Western Russia, the authors could use
the books and ideas of Vladimir Kulakov (Кулаков Владимир Иванович), who took
part in the writing of From the Ancient Prussians Till Our Days, but from 2004
became more and more involved in the work at the Kaliningrad Institute of Tou-
rism than in the BFU of I.Kant and did not participate in the new project.106 Prof.
V. Kulakov is the most famous archeologist of the Kaliningrad district. From 1974

102 The Member board of the Institute of Baltic Research of The BFU in: http://www.kantiana.ru/baltregion/
sovet/; Information about the new appointments in The BFU (2012-02-09) in: <http://www.kantiana.ru/
news/142/66342/?sphrase_id=681314>.
103 «В.  Кнюрайте, Г.  Блажене, С.  Григаравичюте» – were Lithuanian representatives who supported the
textbooks in April, 2007 during international conference Современная стратегия развития российского
образования и ее реализация в Калининградской области: Interview with the Kaliningrad history program
curator Natalja Strogonova – Западная Россия: забытая история in: <http://upr.1september.ru/article.
php?ID=200800415>.
104 Trimakas Ramūnas. „Vakarų Rusijos“ sampratos klausimu: imperinė atmintis ir istorijos mokymas. Istorija
T. LXXIV, Nr. 74. 2009 02. P. 51-62.
105 Šepetys Nerijus. Lietuvos vaizdavimas šiuolaikiniuose Rusijos istorijos vadovėliuose. Lietuvos istorijos studijos.
Mokslo darbai 2008. Vilnius: Vilniaus universiteto leidykla, 2008. T. 22. P. 144-162.
106 Short biography of V. Kulakov in: Kulakovas Vladimiras. Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija, Vilnius: Mokslo
ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas, 2007. T. XI. P. 210.
298
 IN V EN T IN G NE W H IS TORY F OR NE W   P EO P L E :
C REAT IN G T H E H IS TORY O F T H E K A L ININ G RA D D IS T RI C T A F T ER 1 9 9 2

till now, he is the head of the Baltic Expedition of Archeological Institute of the
Russian Science Academy – the only permanent archeological research organiza-
tion in the Kaliningrad district.107 He is also a world-known specialist of Prussia of
the 5th-12th centuries.108 In 80’s, his ideas expressed in the book The Forgoten His­
tory of the Prussians (Забытая история пруссов) (1992) about the legendary Prus-
sians Vaidevutis and Brutenis, the Prussian fights with Avars or the ethno-genesis
of the Prussian tribes during the Dark Ages were very eccentric and strange for the
Lithuanian reader.109 However, V. Kulakov has never doubted about the historical
and archeological identity of the Aestians and the Prussians or the imaginary role
of the Slavs or the Russians in Prussia of those times.110 Nevertheless, the authors
of The History of the Western Russia had ignored all the works of the Eastern Prussia
archeologists of the last twenty years. Lithuanian archeologists, even in a short
article The Beginnings of Western Russia History (2008), had no difficulties to show
the weak knowledge of archeological material in the textbooks of The History of the
Western Russia.111
The results of ignorance are confused descriptions of the ancient Prussian past,
which can he found in the first history textbook just after reading the first three
chapters. The Prussians are described as relatively new settlers of the Prussian
region. According to the textbook, Prussia in the 5th century B.C. was settled by
some newly invented Balto-Slavic Indo-European tribes.112 Later, the ancient Aes-
tians, well known to the Roman historians, together with their neighbors Goths
migrated from Prussia to the Western Europe in the 5th century. After some time,
part of Aestians returned and rejoined the left culture.113 Together with the Slavs,
other tribes came to the Baltic Sea and the tribes, cultures and the geographical names

107 Short biography of V. Kulakov in site of Archeology Institute Института археологии РАН in: <http://www.
archaeolog.ru/~kulakov>.
108 The best known of his works in: Kulakov, V. I The Amber Lands in the time of the Roman Empire. British
Archaeological Reports. International Series, BAR, 1356. Oxford: Archaeopress, 2005; В. И.Кулаков. Ис-
тория Пруссии до 1283 года. Москва: Индрик, 2003; Кулаков В. И. Неманский янтарный путь в эпоху
викингов: научное издание. Калинингра: ГБУ К Калининградский областной музей янтаря, 2012.
109 Some typical examples: Кулаков В. И. Пруссы, авары и анты: конфликт 675-700 гг. Взаимодействие коче-
вых культур и древних цивилизаций. Алма-Ата, 1987, C. 172-174; Кулаков В. И. Степные реминисценции
у раннесредневековых сембов. Волжская Булгария и Русь. Казань, 1986. C. 139-148; Кулаков В. И. Забытая
история пруссов. Калининград, 1992.
110 Кулаков В. И. История Пруссии до 1283 года. Москва: Индрик, 2003. C. 29-40.
111 Jovaiša, E., Vaškevičiūtė, I. Vakarų Rusijos istorijai atsiradus. Istorija, 2008, t. 69, p. 3–7.
112 «Их называют балтославианскими индоевропейскими племенами» - Кретинин Г. В. История западной
России. Калининградская область. Учебник 6–7 классы. Под ред. А. П. Клемешева. Москва: ОЛМА
Медиа Групп, 2007. C. 9.
113 «...ушли и эстии. Часть из нич потом вернулась, но произошло обьединение прошлой культуры.» - Крети-
нин Г. В. История западной России. Калининградская область. Учебник 6–7 классы. Под ред. А. П. Кле-
мешева. Москва: ОЛМА Медиа Групп, 2007. C. 13-14.
299
K a s tyt i s A n ta n a i t i s

were renamed. In such a way, Prussians emerged in the territory of our district.114
The Prussians took the territories inhabited by the Aestians and assimilated their
culture. Later, another group of the Aestians probably returned home after some
time.115 For a historian, such text looks like a misunderstanding or a parody of a
history textbook, but even such confused tale about the past can be said to have
two hidden messages for the readers: the first one – the Prussians had strong con-
nection with the Slavs; the second one – the Prussians were invaders, similarly to
the Germans and the Russians themselves. It may also be assumed that The History
of the Western Russia tries to demonstrate, despite the researches of the Russian,
Polish and Lithuanian archeologists, that the Eastern Prussia from the 6th century
of the Common Era was a playground of the Russian cultural, political and econo-
mical influence.116
An exaggerated attention for the Russian history is another feature of The His­
tory of the Western Russia textbooks. Descriptions of the Russian-Prussian connec-
tions are very significant in this history. Every important German from Prussia
who made a career in the Russian Empire is shortly presented; any Russian who
went to the University in Konigsberg or just simply traveled through Konigsberg
to the Western Europe is mentioned in the textbook despite the historical visit’s or
visitor’s significance. The most extreme or even grotesque example is five lectures
about the so-called Great Embassy of Peter the Great in Konigsberg. At school, 5
textbook lectures mean 2,5 month’s studies with 1 class per week.117 It can only be
compared with 4 lectures about the German Order’s conquest of Prussia, whereas
other subjects do not receive so much attention. For example, there is only 1 lec-
ture about the Nazi rule in Prussia, and 2 lectures about the Second World War in
Prussia.
The causes of such disproportion can easily be explained if we look closely at the
scientific interests of the textbook author. Also, it should be observed that before
The History of the Western Russia, Prof. Genadij Kretinin had written a book about
Peter the Great in Prussia (mostly about the Great Embassy of the Czar),118 the

114 «Вместе со славянами к берегу Балтийского моря пришли и другие племена. Произошло переименова-
ние племен, культур, географическич терминов. Так на територии нашего края появились прусы» – Кре-
тинин Г. В. История западной России. Калининградская область. Учебник 6–7 классы. Под ред. А. П. Кле-
мешева. Москва: ОЛМА Медиа Групп, 2007. C. 14.
115 «...через некоторое время...» - Кретинин Г.В. История западной России. Калининградская область. Учебник
6–7 классы. Под ред. А. П. Клемешева. Москва: ОЛМА Медиа Групп, 2007. C. 14.
116 Jovaiša, E., Vaškevičiūtė, I. Vakarų Rusijos istorijai atsiradus. Istorija, 2008, t. 69, p. 6–7.
117 Кретинин Г. В. История западной России. Калининградская область. Учебник 6–7 классы. Под ред.
А. П. Кле­мешева. Москва: ОЛМА Медиа Групп, 2007. C. 186-220.
118 Кретинин Г. В. Прусские маршруты Петра Первого. Калининград: Янтарный сказ, 1996.
300
 IN V EN T IN G NE W H IS TORY F OR NE W   P EO P L E :
C REAT IN G T H E H IS TORY O F T H E K A L ININ G RA D D IS T RI C T A F T ER 1 9 9 2

Seven Years’ War occupation of Prussia by the Russian troops119 and the Russians at
the University of Konigsberg.120 All these above mentioned research topics of Prof.
Kretinin can be easily found in The History of the Western Russia. In fact, the first
part of the second volume of the textbook can be interpreted as a summary of Prof.
Kretinin’s works.121 Possibly, when there is no choice of studies about the history of
the Prussian Kingdom or these studies and sources are out of historian’s reach, the
writer is forced to use only the material he is able to find.
This leads to the description of the Prussian state taken out of the European
context or even out of the German history. In some cases, it is rather questionable if
the history authors were familiar with the German historiography at all? The same
can be said about the Prussian neighboring states and nations: Lithuania together
with Poland is mentioned only in the two lectures about the German Order’s state
and its neighbors, and the Lithuanian population in the Kingdom of Prussia.122
The very name The History of the Western Russia as a synonym for The History of
the East Prussia was invented and proposed to the Kaliningrad historians by Isak
Kalina (Исаак Калина), an active Putinist and a Deputy Minister of Education
and Science of the Russian Federation, in 2007.123 If the Eastern Prussia is descri-
bed without the German or even Prussian state contexts’, then it should be some
kind of a micro history of Konigsberg. However, after removing the East Prussian
history from the German history, the authors put the local history into the context
of the Russian history. The result is that the border line between the history of Prus-
sia, the Prussian Kingdom, the local history of Konigsberg town and the Eastern
Prussia history in The History of the Western Russia is very flexible and unclear. It
often changes from one chapter to another and leaves the reader with some kind of
astonishment. For example, the history describes the Prussian Lithuanians but does
not mention the Klaipėda region, because Klaipėda today is not in the Kaliningrad
district. If we look at the geographical borders, we can see some attempts to nar-
row the geographic meaning of Prussia. If in the Early Medieval times, Prussia is

119 Кретинин Г. В. Под российской короной, или Русские в Кёнигсберге, 1758-1762. Калининград: Калининг-
радское книжное изд-во, 1996.
120 Костяшов Ю. В., Кретинин Г. В. Петровское начало: Кёнигсберг. университет и рос. просвещение в 18 веке.
Калининград: Янтарный сказ, 1999. Выпуск 1-2.
121 About 30 % of the textbook text narrative can be found in other books – Кретинин Г. В. История запад-
ной России. Калининградская область Калининградская область. Учебник 8–9 классы. Под ред. Клемеше-
ва А. П. Москва: ОЛМА Медиа Групп, 2007. C. 3-95.
122 Кретинин Г. В. История западной России. Калининградская область. Учебник 6–7 классы. Под ред.
А. П. Клемешева. Москва: ОЛМА Медиа Групп, 2007. C. 74-87, Кретинин Г.В. История западной Рос-
сии. Калининградская область Калининградская область. Учебник 8–9 классы. Под ред. Клемешева А. П.
Москва: ОЛМА Медиа Групп, 2007. C. 65-67, 132-136.
123 Interview with the Kaliningrad history program curator Natalja Strogonova – Западная Россия: забытая
история in: <http://upr.1september.ru/article.php?ID=200800415>.
301
K a s tyt i s A n ta n a i t i s

described as a large region between the rivers Nemunas and Vistula, in the Early
Modern times, it coincides with the borders of the Prussian Duchy and the King-
dom. However, when in the 18th century, Prussia becomes a major power in the
German lands, the textbook shifts attention to the regional history of the Eastern
Prussia dominated by Konigsberg and, finally, in the middle of the 20th century,
the focus is narrowed down to the history of Kaliningrad city with the surrounding
areas. The result is that the textbook authors and the readers are lost somewhere
between the state history, the ethnic, and the local or micro histories.
Other problems are caused because of the anachronistic and unhistorical des-
cription of the object of study. The very name Западная Россия (The Western Rus­
sia) is historically incorrect (in the Russian history science, the concept of the Wes­
tern Russia includes Novgorod, Pskov and Smolensk regions). The new name was
invented not in the Kaliningrad, but in Moscow, just to avoid the use of the word
Prussia. In the Kaliningrad district, the Eastern Prussia’s name was first preferred,
but because of the connections with the past of the German empire it was turned
down and a decision to look for a more neutral name was taken.
Some textbook problems can be explained by the specificity of history teaching
in the Russian schools. In secondary schools, children learn the history of the
world, the Russian history and regional history at the same time in parallel lectures.
Because of the synchronization of history textbooks, all information that can be
learned from textbooks on regional history is avoided. For example, in the History
of the Western Russia, the beginning of the Second World War, so fateful for Prussia,
is not mentioned at all.
In my opinion, the major problem with The History of the Western Russia is not
the authors’ lack of professionalism or politically motivated manipulations with
historical information, but some clear over-positivism and emotional neutrality of
the narrative. The textbooks were written as a positivistic text which aims to inform
the reader. This approach probably suits for the medieval history or for the descrip-
tions of military operations. In the history of the Modern times, information that
somebody or something emerged, developed, went, destroyed, and killed sounds
like justification of all atrocities and crimes that took place in Prussia in the 20th
century. Of course, history should not be written in black and white, in terms of
good and evil, but history textbooks are never and will never be neutral texts based
on statistics and calculations. Without the ethical values, history and historians
become just another instrument of propaganda, ready to serve to any regime.
In the case of the Kaliningrad district history creation, historians have a very
rare opportunity to see and describe the processes of birth and development of the
mixed local, regional and national historical identity. Usually, a historian can only

302
 IN V EN T IN G NE W H IS TORY F OR NE W   P EO P L E :
C REAT IN G T H E H IS TORY O F T H E K A L ININ G RA D D IS T RI C T A F T ER 1 9 9 2

write about the birth of historical identity that happened many decades or even
centuries ago, whereas the experience of the Kaliningrad district history creation
is a rare opportunity to write about the contemporary processes. In the case of
the Kaliningrad district’s history, the model of the collective memory, as it can be
found in Prof. Jan Assmann’s theory of cultural and communicative memory, fits
the situation very well. There are memories on which life and society in Kalinin-
grad are based; memory is artificially produced and formed; there exist professional
memories’ keepers and institutions. At the same, time people demand for such cul-
tural memory, and, according to their social identification, are willing to accept the
collective memory by education and repetition rituals.124 How the acculturation
mechanism of historical identity building in schools of the Kaliningrad district,
which started in 2006, will affect the younger generation of the Kaliningradians
will be seen in the next two decades. At present, we can only guess that a commu-
nity with a strange history is probably better than the people with no history.

C o n clu s i o n s

1) The population of the Kaliningrad district has varying historical backgrounds;

the majority of them are new migrants to the district with little interest in the
regional history.
2) During the Soviet times, the local history researches were suppressed and the
information about the Prussian past could be found only in geographical, tourism
or Soviet-style literature. Popular literature or art o had little interest in the repre-
sentation of the Prussian past.
3) The books about the Prussian history published before 1992 do not meet
the demands of the new generation of the Kaliningradians who identify themselves
with the Prussian past, but not with Russia in general.
3) In the 90’s of the 20th century, some attempts to write a history of Prussia
were made, but none of them was successful or fit as a basis for education in schools
and the university.
4) With strong support from the Russian Federation’s center administration, a
new three volume textbook The History of the Western Russia was published and in
2006, the teaching of regional history was started in the schools of the Kaliningrad
district.
5) The majority of textbooks and histories were produced by the professors of

124 Ассман Я. Культурная память. Письмо, память о прошлом и политическая идентичность в высоких
культурах древности. Москва: Языки славянской культуры, 2004.
303
K a s tyt i s A n ta n a i t i s

the Baltic Federal University of I.Kant and were mostly based on their research
what resulted in different outcomes in history textbooks.
6) The History of the Western Russia has problems with respect to the adequ-
ate representation of the Prussian ethno-genesis, clear geographical and political
boundaries of research object, the overestimation of the Russian relations with
Prussia and the absence of strong moral position in the description of the Eastern
Prussia history in the 20th century. Nevertheless, the processes of the creation of
the Kaliningrad district history textbooks and school teaching according to the
textbooks can be described and interpreted as an example of cultural memory
creation process.

Kastytis Antanaitis

N auj a i s to r i j a n auj i e m s žm o n ėm s : K a l i n i n g r a d o s r i t i e s
i s to r i j o s kū r i m a s p o 1 9 9 2 - ųjų

s AN T RAU K A . Sovietmečiu Kaliningrado srityje buvo vykdoma aktyvi istorinės atminties

naikinimo politika, todėl jokių Prūsijos istorijų nebuvo rašoma. Sovietiniai veikalai apie Kali-
ningrado srities istoriją buvo menkaverčiai. XX a. pabaigoje ėmė formuotis nauja kaliningradie-
čių karta, kuri save ėmė identifikuoti su Karaliaučiaus kraštu. Stiprėjantis poreikis pastūmėjo
istorikus net kelis kartus bandyti sukurti Rytų Prūsijos istorijos sintezes, tačiau reikšmingų
rezultatų nebuvo pasiekta. XXI a. centrinės Rusijos Federacijos valdžios finansinė ir teisinė
parama leido sukurti Vakarų Rusijos istorijos vadovėlių rinkinį, kuris nors ir turi nemažai trū-
kumų, bet moko savo krašto istorijos.
RA K TA ŽO D Ž IAI : istoriografija, Kaliningrado srities istorija, Rytų Prūsija, istorijos moky-
mas, XX–XXI a., istorinis identitetas.

304