LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Kaliningrad Oblast: Lithuania Minor
built 655 days ago
The region of Kaliningrad Oblast was inhabited during the Middle Ages by tribes of Old Prussians in the western part, and Lithuanians in the eastern part by the Pregolya and Alna rivers. The Teutonic Knights conquered the region and established a monastic state. On the foundations of a destroyed Prussian settlement known as Tvanksta, the Order founded the major city Königsberg, the current Kaliningrad. Germans and Poles resettled the territory and assimilated the indigenous Old Prussians. The Lithuanian-inhabited areas became known as Lithuania Minor. In 1525, Grand Master Albert of Brandenburg secularised the Prussian branch of the Teutonic Order and established himself as the sovereign of the Duchy of Prussia, the polish fief, later inherited by the Margravate of Brandenburg.
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Tochka missiles (erroneously called "Toka" by the Washington Times), according to some reports, have been regularly launched in Kaliningrad Oblast since 1995, including, in 1999, in the presence of representatives of the Lithuanian Consulate in Kaliningrad. The only new factor involved in the 18 April 2000 launch was the use of a different testing range: one closer to the Polish border (previous launches used a testing range closer to Lithuania). Also, a number of official Russian reports, including the one cited above, indicate that nuclear warheads for tactical land-based missiles have been eliminated or at least are close to elimination. This makes the scenario described by the Washington Times less plausible than other possible scenarios of TNW deployment in Kaliningrad Oblast.
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Sergei Borisyuk explained, cargoes from the Kaliningrad oblast will be transported via Belarus with no customs charges and convoy when several conditions are met. First, the cargo’s transportation documents have to be marked by the Russian customs bodies on the Belarusian-Lithuanian border to prove the cargo is in transit from the Kaliningrad oblast. Second, the Belarusian authorities need the information confirmed by the Russian colleagues by electronic means.
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Lithuania is responding calmly to Ivanov’s warning about possible missile deployment in Kaliningrad oblast. In the initial reactions from Vilnius, Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas, Minister of Foreign Affairs Petras Vaitiekunas, and the parliamentary foreign affairs committee chairman Justinas Karosas are making the following points:
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The Russian language is spoken by more than 95% of Kaliningrad Oblast population. There is a small Lithuanian-speaking minority in the north-east. English in understood by many people under 25. Many people understand some German and Polish.
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Lithuania Minor