Klaipėdos universitetas

The article discusses questions pertaining to the development of the socio-political structures of the West Balts. On the basis of archaeological studies and scarce historical sources, the conclusion is drawn that the first shoots of statehood might have emerged during the Viking era. It seems that the fortification of hill-forts, the emergence of castles, the increasing differentiation of material wealth, the emergence of proto-towns, and the formation of the stratum of warriors should allow us to talk of the emergence of chiefdoms in the land of the West Balts. However, all these attributes rather demonstrate the development of social structures. The question is put whether the social elite that stood out during the Viking era was at the same time the political elite. Thus, the main question is, what kind of chiefdoms can we talk about, and from when and how did the political elite emerge, which predetermined the emergence of a state in the lands of the East Balts, but which nevertheless did not lead the society of the West Balts to statehood?

On the basis of statistical economic indicators, diplomatic correspondence, diaries of Russian travellers, memoirs, essays, and letters, the article seeks to answer the question of what place East Prussia occupied in the economic, political, and cultural space of Russia. When considering the dimensions making up the image of East Prussia that was maintained in the consciousness of Russian people, the author identifies six of them and demonstrates the changes of their content in different discourses supported within the Russian Empire from the mid-19th c. to World War I.