In the past the region was closed to the outside world. Today the district of Kaliningrad is the most westerly Russian enclave and is surrounded by EU countries. The Russian Army still has its base there (and quite possibly holds nuclear weapons). With an inferiority complex towards Western Europe the people of Kaliningrad live under the shadow of omnipresent statues. Not a month passes and a national holiday is celebrated with reference to the statues: torpedoes on pedestals, motorboats, busts of war heroes are celebrated with the deepest conviction that an important historical mission for Mother Russia is being fulfilled.