Mice that roared
Deutsche Welle has a look at some of the micro-states in Europe and other odd-ball territories , most of which are not part of the EU. Here are some of the more interesting ones:- Andorra, the little ski paradise in the Pyrenees, was ruled by the President of France and a Spanish bishop until the seventies. After a parliament established, the two "co-princes" continued to serve as heads of state.
- Gibraltar remains a British possession, despite an agreement between Britain and Spain, because the majority of the residents did not want joint rule.
- Kalingrad is a small Russian enclave on the Baltic that is threatened with being swallowed up be neighboring Poland and Lithuanian. The economic and diplomatic costs of keeping it connected to Russia are high.
posted by Nathanael @ 10:28 PM
2 Comments:
Kaliningrad is about the same size (and has about the same population) as East Timor -- which is to say, both possess some three-quarters the area (though far less population) as the state of Israel -- just to name some other regions/states which have been in danger of being absorbed by their neighbors at various times.
Thank you for your comment.
Of course, Kalingrad is far from insignificant. I believe its population is more than one million. It is too bad that words like "small" and "enclave" are imprecise when used to describe places like it. I am also reminded that there are "small enclaves" in Moroco that are constantly disputed by different nations.
I would be happy to add anything that you know about Kalingrad (first hand experiences?) to the original post.
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