The Russian propaganda channel Russia 1 aired a story about the “development of Kaliningrad” using footage from the Polish city of Elbląg. Stanisława Żaryna, the Polish government’s commissioner for information space security, responded to this “mistake.”
The official published an excerpt from a story about Kaliningrad, which claims that the city is “developing and becoming richer.”
“The situation in Russia must be very difficult, especially in Kaliningrad. The footage shows our Polish Elbląg, a beautiful Polish city,” said Żaryn.
The situation in Russia must be very difficult, especially in Kaliningrad. Russian propaganda claims that the city is developing and becoming richer. The photos show our Polish Elbląg! Beautiful Polish city! pic.twitter.com/PJyUnd4CvI
– Stanisław Żaryn (@StZaryn) October 3, 2023
On May 9, 2023, Poland officially got rid of the Russian name for the city of Kaliningrad in favor of Polish Krolewiec. They argued that the changes were made because the Russian name for the city is artificial, and in Poland, Kaliningrad is historically known as Królewiec.
A historical overview
The name “Krulewiec” is a Polish translation of the historical name “Koenigsberg”. The name “Königsberg” was used for 700 years when the city was controlled by the Teutonic Order, Prussia, and Germany. For 190 years, the city belonged to Polish kings. It was only in 1945 that Königsberg was occupied by the USSR, and in 1946 it was renamed Kaliningrad.
