The Russian side of the Silk Road is going to continue to increase as cooperation between Moscow and Beijing reach ever-growing heights. This new route will use existing tracks coming from the Russian side until it hits the city of Omsk. From Omsk the rail road will curve southwards through Mongolia and then into China itself.

At present, one could technically ride trains from St. Petersburg to Beijing but the journey takes a week or more and is far from idea. For freight wait-times are not as big of an issue but the longer something travels the more the cost increases, thus this new route should have a positive effect on prices. Furthermore, trade between Russia and China continues to grow and the more trade routes the better for all parties involved.

One interesting nuance to this place is that in theory over existing rail lines, this type of route could be achieved via Kazakhstan with a length of some 7800 km. But, political instability in the recent past and meddling by NATO nations in Kazakhstani affairs have probably forced Russia build thousands of kilometers of railroad rather than rely on their neighbors. This is yet another “hidden cost” of Russophobia.