The border between Poland and Russia is unique, as it does not connect to the Russian mainland. Instead, the 232-kilometer frontier is with the Kaliningrad Oblast, a heavily militarized Russian exclave situated on the Baltic Sea. Your crossing here is a passage into a piece of territory with a complex and layered 20th-century history.
There are several modern road crossings, such as Grzechotki-Mamonovo and Bezledy-Bagrationovsk. These are formal and well-equipped facilities, as this is an external border of the European Union and the Schengen Area.
The procedures are what you would expect from a major EU frontier: thorough and professional. The process is meticulous, with detailed checks of passports, visas, and vehicles. The political relationship between Poland and Russia means that the border is managed with a high degree of scrutiny.
The existence of this border is a direct result of the end of World War II and the Potsdam Agreement, which transferred the former German territory of East Prussia to the Soviet Union. The area, once known as Königsberg, was renamed Kaliningrad. Crossing this border is a direct encounter with the complex and often difficult history that has shaped the modern map of Europe.