VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
Kaliningrad, the administrative centre of Russia's westernmost part, celebrated its 750th anniversary in 2005 and the 60th anniversary of its renaming in 2006.
The city's population (which constitutes 45% of the region's population) was 422,678 at the beginning of 2009. Sixty-five percent of the city's population were of active working age.
The city occupies 224.5 square kilometres, stretching 17 kilometres from north to south and 23 kilometres from east to west.
Kaliningrad is a major transport hub, with a railroad interchange to European-gauge tracks, ice-free seaports, an international airport, and regular bus and rail passenger lines to Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic, and the post-Soviet Baltic countries.
As of January 1, 2009, there were 36,600 registered economic entities in the city, including 33,700 small and medium companies. Of these companies, 37.8% are involved in wholesale and retail trade; 15.8% in real estate and business services; 12.2% in construction; 11.6% in the manufacturing industries; and 7.4% in transport and communications. A total of 31,200 private companies make up 85.2% of all economic entities.
Industries new to the region have recently appeared in Kaliningrad, including automobile manufacturing, the assembly of high-tech household and electronic appliances, the production of many types of construction materials, and meatpacking. Small companies have also begun manufacturing furniture. Industries long established in the city, such as shipbuilding, fuel and energy, fish processing, light industries, food industries, as well as brewing and distilling, are steadily increasing their output.
A friendly city, Kaliningrad is a tourist's paradise with diverse recreation facilities, including several concert halls, theatres, botanical gardens, thirteen fitness and recreation centres, two skating rinks, three stadiums, eight indoor swimming pools, a water park, and Russia's oldest zoo. The Organ Hall of the Kaliningrad Philharmonic Society hosts organists and choirs from all parts of Russia and Europe. Some of the city's greatest tourist attractions are the Victory Park memorial complex, a 14th century cathedral, the Amber Museum, the Ocean Museum, and the medieval fortifications.
