Transport Corridors of the Post-Soviet Space as a Road to the Future

International transport corridors (ITC) running through the territory of the post-Soviet states are an important geopolitical problem. Control over transit routes is an effective instrument of mutual political and economic influence of states. Post-Soviet states are striving to develop their international relations to achieve access to foreign markets, offering their alternative options for the movement of goods from West to East and from North to South. For example, China, based on centuries of historical experience, is developing the idea of the Silk Road Economic Belt to obtain raw materials and resources, as well as sell its products. In Russia, important transit routes are the Trans-Siberian Railway, the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM), the Trans-Mongolian and Trans-Manchurian lines, the South Ural Railway, East–West, Primorye-1, Primorye-2, and the Northern Sea Route. The most dynamically developing project in Russia is the North–South ITC. Geopolitical competition gives rise to alternative transit routes bypassing Russia. In the chapter, the authors analyze in detail the difficulties and unprofitability of the implementation of many projects related to the removal of Russian territories from the chain of international transportation. The dynamics of government relations on the creation and development of similar projects are traced. The architecture of the MTK, along with Western countries, is influenced by Turkey, China, Iran, and India. The authors come to the conclusion that despite numerous geopolitical difficulties, international cooperation within the framework of the ITC generally has a beneficial effect on the development of the economies of the post-Soviet states: the new potential of ports is revealed, roads and railways, transport, and container hubs are built, large multimodal logistics centers along transport arteries and border areas are constructed, production is stimulated, supply chains are strengthened. The conducted research may be useful to theorists and practitioners developing international economic relations.