Launch of “Fragile Fortress” with Edward Lucas

Register on Eventbrite

Kaliningrad’s future: from Soviet trophy territory to Russia’s Achilles heel

You are warmly invited to the launch of Fragile Fortress, a new book on Russia’s exclave of Kaliningrad.

Russia’s westernmost region is often depicted as a menacing military fortress. But reality is different. The exclave, sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland, is stagnant, repressive and isolated. With most ground forces sent to Ukraine, it is barely defensible in military terms — and certainly not capable of invading its Nato neighbours. And as the cost of the war bites, it is economically, politically and geopolitically unsustainable.

“Fragile Fortress” is a ground-breaking book-length research project, drawing on Lithuanian, Polish and other expertise to highlight the failures of Russian rule. It is published by the Baltic International Security Centre (BISC) as part of the Kaliningrad 2050 project, which examines the possible futures for the territory by the middle of this century.

Speakers will include contributors to the book: security expert Edward Lucas, Lithuanian analyst Simona Uksaitė, former Polish diplomat and professor Miłosz Cordes, and the military expert Colonel (retd) Glen Grant.

The event is supported by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom.