Some Belarusian Leaders Wanted Kaliningrad to Be Part of Their Republic but Stalin Ensured It Became Part of Russia, Dmitriyev Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, April 7 – On the 80^th anniversary of the annexation of East Prussia by the USSR in April 1946, a German region that had been under Soviet control since German forces were driven out in April 1945, numerous articles have appeared about the complicated history of how this absorption took place.

            Among them is one by journalist Andrey Dmitriyev who makes a variety of points, all of which have echoes to this day (apn-spb.ru/publications/article39655.htm). He talks about how the German population was displaced by Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians over time and in particular about how Belarusian communists wanted it to pass to them.

            Had that happened, Dmitriyev says, the geopolitics of the region now would be completely different. Belarus would have had ports on the Baltic, there would be no talk about a Suwalki corridor and Russia would have lost much of its leverage over the Baltic republics and Eastern Europe more generally.

            Dmitriyev says that stories about Belarusian interest in gaining control over the former German territory are “fakes” even though current Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has often talked about how much better it would have been if his country had its own port, something that the annexation of Kaliningrad would have made or would make possible.

            The reason the contemporary writer is so sure that stories about Belarusian interest in gaining control of Kaliningrad are not true is that Stalin made it very clear not only at international conferences but in Politburo meetings that he wanted this German region to become part of Russia.

              That argument certainly fits in with Putin’s current effort to boost the former Soviet dictator and talk about “the genocide of the Soviet people.” But it is uncertain even at the end of his rule that Stalin was as obsessed with boosting Russia at the expense of the USSR; and it is far more likely that he wanted Moscow to control Kaliningrad directly by being part of the RSFSR.

Rising Utility Bills Hitting Some Russian Federal Subjects Ten Times as Much as Others

Paul Goble

            Staunton, April 8 – Moscow promised that utility rates would increase by only 1.7 percent this year; and in some of the country’s more than 80 federal subjects, the actual rate was only slightly more than that. But in others, such as Kemerovo and Mordvinia, it was more than ten times as great, the Govorit NeMoskva portal says.

            Rates in Kemerovo Oblast have risen by 21.5 percent since the start of 2026 and by 21.4 percent in the Mordvin Republic over the same period, the portal says (nemoskva.net/2026/04/08/rekordnyj-rost-tarifov-zhkh-v-rossii-2026-v-kakih-regionah-czeny-vyrosli-na-20/).

            What that means is that some parts of the Russian Federation are suffering far more than others and that the average figures, while bad, are like what the Russians call “the average temperature in a hospital,” something that sounds meaningful but in fact ignores the reality that many are suffering from high fevers while others are in fact already dead.

            Many analysts attribute the increases to the costs of Putin’s war in Ukraine; but the diversity in their level reflects the fact that in some of the more depressed regions, housing is extremely dilapidated and has not been repaired for a long time. And it is there in particular that Russians have taken to social media to complain and to declare themselves unable to pay.

            Residents in some of the regions most seriously affected are complaining to their deputies and have even held protest demonstrations in places far from Moscow, like Tobolsk. But “for the time being,” Govorit NeMoskva says, officials aren’t doing anything more than promising to “keep the matter under review.”

Water Levels in Lake Issyk-Kul, Jewel of ‘Water-Surplus’ Kyrgyzstan, Continue to Fall, Threatening Human Use of Northern Shore

Paul Goble

            Staunton, April 7 – Discussions of water in Central Asia for the past 50 years have invariably focused on the differences between the two “water surplus” countries, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, where there the rivers rise that flow into the three “water shortage” ones, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

            Because of that approach, most have assumed that the “water surplus” countries don’t have serious problems while the “water shortage” ones do. But in fact, even the “water surplus” countries are facing increasing difficulties, with the situation in Kyrgyzstan particularly dire not only in the south but around Kyrgyzstan’s famed Lake Issyk-Kul.

            The water levels in that lake have been falling for 170 years, Bishkek scholars say; but now the declines are hitting the republic especially hard. That is because the lake has two very different shorelines, in the south where they are in most places steep rocky cliffs while in the north they feature more level land on which resorts have been built.

            As the water levels continue to decline, these experts at the country’s Academy of Sciences say, there is a risk that much of the waters of the lake along the northern shore will turn into swamp land, making the adjoining land ever less attractive for human use (turmush.kg/ru/news:2446361, eco.akipress.org/news:2447836 and bugin.info/detail/issyk-kul-otstupaet-ugr/ru).

            There is no immediate danger that Issyk Kul will die as has the Aral Sea and as Lake Balkhash in Kazakhstan and the Caspian are now threatened. It is too deep for that, but projected declines in water level underscores a reality few have acknowledged: even the “water surplus” countries face serious problems because of global warming and increased human use.

Majority of New Russian Museums on Putin’s War in Ukraine Directed at Young People, ‘Vot-Tak’ Reports

Paul Goble

            Staunton, April 6 – Since Putin called in 2023 for memorials about the war in Ukraine, officials across the Russian Federation and in the occupied territories of Ukraine have opened at least 153 museums devoted to Putin’s “special military operation,” the Vot-Tak portal reports. Of these, almost 60 percent are located in institutions for children and young people.

            The actual focus on young people is actually larger than that, the portal says, because many other museums which have opened special exhibits on the war in Ukraine have sought to attract young people even more than their elders, an indication of precisely what the Kremlin leader presumably wants (vot-tak.tv/92487118/muzei-svo-v-rossii).

            This approach is worrisome because it suggests that Putin wants to raise a generation of young people committed to his militarist course, something that he sees as outlasting both his campaign in Ukraine and even his own presidency and ensuring that his militarist values will shape the values of those still too young to serve in the Russian army. 

Lifting Sanctions on Belarus for Release of Prisoners Alone Resembles FRG-GDR Deals during Cold War and is Helping Keep Lukahenka’s Regime Alive, Bialiatski Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, April 6 – One can only welcome the release of political prisoners, Belarusian Nobelist Ales Bialitski says; but if that is not part of a broader effort to change Lukashenka’s regime, it shouldn't involve the lifting of Western sanctions now as it is a repeat of what happened in the Cold War when West Germany purchased prisoners from East Germany and helped prop up the Communist regime in the latter.

            Just as East Germany’s rulers could always arrest more people and seek more Deutschemarks for their release, Bialitski says, Lukashenka can always arrest more people in order to get more from the West unless the West recognizes that and seeks fundamental change (rfi.fr/ru/европа/20260406-алесь-беляцкий-снимать-санкции-с-беларуси-рано-хунта-торгует-людьми-только-и-всего).

            The Belarusian Nobelist, who has served two terms in Lukashenka’s prisons and was release only at the end of last year, says he of course welcomes the US “humanitarian effort” in Mensk which “is leading to the release of political prisoners.” But, he argues, everyone “must view the situation with clear eyes.”

            “Today, the Belarusian regime is a junta that enjoys absolutely no public support, holds thousands of political prisoners hostage, and has engaged in this human trafficking solely for the sake of lifting economic sanctions,” he says. “The process itself is a positive one—people are being released. Yet, new ‘human cargo’ is constantly being rounded up.”

And he continues: “We must look at least one step ahead and strive for the complete cessation of political repression; otherwise, the entire endeavor is utterly meaningless. What is unfolding now mirrors what we witnessed during the Soviet era, when the GDR simply sold political prisoners to West Germany in exchange for West German Deutschmarks”

During the Cold War, this process of exchanging prisoners went on and one, “with new prsioners being taken to replace those who had been sold, effectively a business that on the whole served to bolster the stability of the authoritarian system in the GDR.” Something all too similar is now happening with Belarus.

What is needed instead of such deals, Bialitski says, are “long-term strategies and long-term projects” from both the Americans and the Europeans, something that requires a clear understanding of how Lukashenka operates and why his dictatorship and ties to Russia are so dangerous for everyone.

Over Last Decade, FSB has been Building Regional Headquarters in Cities Across Russia, ‘Komi Daily’ Reports

Paul Goble

            Staunton, April 4 – Over the last decade, the FSB has built new regional headquarters in 12 cities across the Russian Federation so as to be in a better position to control the situation in the federal subjects where they are located rather than representing some kind of decentralization, Elena Solovyova of the Komi Daily says.

            What is striking is how similar the buildings all are, she says, large, with numerous floors below ground and self-contained as far as energy supplies and the activities of the officers who work there (komidaily.com/2026/04/04/raskidyvaya-shchupaltsa-kak-fsb-zakreplyaetsya-na-periferii-usilivaet-kontrol-i-zashchishchaet-giperboreu/).

            According to Solovyova who provides addresses and other details, these mini-Lubyankas have been given not only new buildings but increased responsibilities and powers because running things closer to the action is more efficient and effective than trying to run everything from Moscow as had been the case earlier.

            Such regional centers will also allow the FSB to focus on particular ethnic, religious or regional groups that might be missed by officers at the center who are forced to take a broader view and thus increase the ability of the organs to identify and then control all those who, their bosses assume, are a threat to the Putin system. 

Caspian Littoral Countries Expanding Dredging in Response to Rapidly Falling Water Levels

Paul Goble

            Staunton, April 6 – All five Caspian littoral countries – Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, and Turkmenistan – are currently expanding or at least planning to expand their dredging operations on that body of water in response to the rapid decline in the sea’s water levels.

            The water level of the Caspian has been falling for some time, but none of the littoral states have built and deployed the number of dredging barges needed to cope with this. Russia has reached out to China and Iran for help, and Azerbaijan has asked Turkey to play a role. But now, with water levels so low, all are devoting more attention to this issue.

            Russia has announced that it has begun dredging operations on the Volga-Caspian Sea Shipping Canal in order to allow its larger ships including vessels of the Caspian Flotilla and to continue to expand its trade with Iran (casp-geo.ru/na-volgo-kaspijskom-morskom-sudohodnom-kanale-nachalis-dnouglubitelnye-raboty/).

            Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have now reached agreement on joint dredging operations in the waters of both countries and in waters further beyond their coastal zones to ensure that trade between them can continue to expand and that they can maintain access to extraction facilities (casp-geo.ru/kazahstan-i-azerbajdzhan-sozdayut-sp-dlya-dnouglubitelnyh-rabot/).

            Iran and Turkmenistan have more limited programs but Iran’s sleet of dredging barges and ships is sufficiently large that it has been helping Russia with a problem Moscow lacks the fleet for. (For background on this, see  windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2026/03/caspian-sea-water-level-has-fallen-to.html, windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2025/06/falling-water-levels-forcing-moscow-to.html and windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2026/01/turkish-company-moves-super-heavy-cargo.html.)