Not for the first time in its history, Russian territory is under attack. But lead cans and cold winters cannot stop the invasion of German capital and Japanese specialty channels that challenge the sovereignty of the sparsely populated South Kuril islands and the medieval port-city of Kaliningrad, a.k.a Lithuania Minor, a.k.a Königsberg.

In the east, the South Kuril Islands lay sandwiched between Japan and Russia, and the North Pacific and Okhotsk Seas. This mineral-rich land is home to 16,000 people and, they’re being desperately fought over by both the Japanese and Russian governments.

The island currently belongs to Russia, but an upcoming referendum will allow the inhabitants to decide where their future lies. To curry favour, the Japanese government has implemented a visa-free program to encourage travel from Kuril to Japan; they have also begun airing a specialty channel for South Kuril, broadcasting pro-Japanese propaganda. The issue is so volatile that the land dispute over the Kuril Islands has kept Russia and Japan from signing a formal peace treaty since the end of the Second World War.

In the west, the Russian territory around Kaliningrad, a port-city separated from the rest of Russia proper, is being inundated with German capital. The Russian enclave is surrounded by member nations of the EU, which allow Kaliningrad residents easy travel to more affluent parts of Europe. And while Germany makes no direct claim to this territory which was part of Germany until 1945, Der Spiegel magazine claimed recently that in 1990 the USSR wanted to return Königsberg to Germany.  

Germany is quietly inserting large sums of capital into the region, helping its economic growth outstrip EU neighbours Poland and Lithuania. When Moscow attempted to match the funds coming from Berlin, Pravda reports that the money was stolen before it even reached Kaliningrad. Only now does Moscow realize it needs a stronger presence in Kaliningrad and the South Kuril Islands to keep them in Russian hands.

Estonia and Finland also have open territorial claims against Russia, and only four years ago did Latvia give up its own claim. So while Russia’s neighbours attempt to carve out chunks of land piece by piece, perhaps Moscow can comfort itself in the knowledge that at least it has so much land to give up if need be.

Andrew Reeves writes the Morning Cable (and other stuff) for Toronto Standard. You can follow him on Twitter at @reevesreport.

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