Census results don't confirm myth of Germanizing of Kaliningrad Region

The results of the 2002 Russian census do not confirm the myth of the Germanizing of Kaliningrad Region, said Kaliningrad Region Statistics Committee Chairman Viktor Vasiliev in a press conference in Kaliningrad on October 31.

He said that 'just as many Germans from different Russian regions that came to Kaliningrad Region, also left the region.' In any case, the number of permanent residents with a German nationality, according to the census, remained unchanged at approximately six thousand. Russian continues to be the predominant nationality in Kaliningrad Region - 80% of the region's population of 955.2 thousand is Russian. Vasiliev said 'the (Germanizing myth) was irresponsible politics not statistics.'