In the Lidl car park in Braniewo, 10 kilometers from the border with the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, Vladimir and Ksenia (first names changed) are among the rare Russian customers to shop in this locality in northeastern Poland. “We are returning from Germany to Kaliningrad”, declares Vladimir evasively, slipping several packets of biscuits into the trunk, filled to the brim, of his sedan. “Food products are cheaper in Poland and of better quality”, boasts of his companion, Ksenia.
Busy in the bakery shelving, a supermarket employee confirms that the Russian clientele, which flocked there just a few years ago, has vanished: “You hardly see them in the store anymore, and I guarantee you you can feel it. » Not far from here, Katarzyna (first name changed) tries to pass the time behind her currency exchange counter. “Local residents fear that this half-closed border will lead to layoffs. And jobs, there are hardly any around here,” comments this resident of Braniewo, a city of 17,000 inhabitants.
A few kilometers to the north, at the Gronowo border crossing, facing the Russian town of Mamonovo, it is dead calm. The border has been closed there by the Polish authorities since March 13, 2020. Although the health danger has receded considerably, the barriers have never reopened, causing exchange offices and small restaurants set up on the roadside to collapse. Motorists wishing to go to the Kaliningrad oblast must fall back on a passage 15 kilometers further east. But, even there, they are absent subscribers. ” The circulation ? There are few of them, as you can see.” assures a Polish border agent in Grzechotki. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, two of the four border crossings along the 210 km border between Russia (from Kaliningrad) and Polish Warmia-Masuria are currently out of service.
“A huge loss”
And the war launched by Russia in Ukraine on February 24 dried up what remained of cross-border movements. “The Russians were very good customers, they bought for 300 to 500 euros each time,” laments Jakub Bornus, elected representative of the rural commune of Braniewo – administering the neighboring villages. Right in his dark blue suit, the city councilor confirms that the profusion of supermarkets and large local commercial signs met the needs of the once flourishing Russian clientele. So many businesses that have seen their turnover shaken by the pandemic, and now by the war in Ukraine.
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