Kaliningrad: Too Close for Comfort

Regarding the opinion-page article ``This Tiny Russian Enclave in Europe Could Explode,'' April 6. I appreciate the Monitor as the first major newspaper I know of that has addressed the problem of Kaliningrad Oblast, an anomaly on the map of Europe which no one else in American politics or the press wants to recognize as a source of future problems.

I have written numerous letters to members of Congress on the Foreign Relations, Armed Services, Appropriations, and other committees, and I have yet to receive a reply which even mentions Kaliningrad.

During a televised panel discussion, former Secretary of Defense Harold Brown suggested that the Russian armies had been moved ``600 miles eastward.'' Apparently he was unaware of the Kaliningrad military base. Kaliningrad, in fact, lies 200 to 300 miles from a number of European capitals. Perhaps ``political correctness'' keeps Germany from objecting that a motorized Russian spearhead could leave Kaliningrad and arrive in Berlin the same day.

What is the reason for the official blackout on the topic of Kaliningrad? V. Racenis, Kenmore, N.Y.

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