Post-colonial trade between Russia and former Soviet republics: back to big brother?

3.2.2 Transport infrastructure patterns
The former Soviet republics have dated transport connections, dominated by Soviet 
transport infrastructure connecting Russia and the CIS+ siblings. Most traded and 
transit goods of both regions rely on those railroads (for the Central Asian repub-
lics, for example, it is about 90%). The railroad net mostly covers western Russia 
and Kazakhstan. Carrere and Grigoriou (
2007
) argue that infrastructure and rail-
roads built during the Soviet era are an important factor in determining with whom 
Central Asian republics will choose to trade (meaning with Russia and the CIS+ 
Siblings).
1213
Further West, Ukraine and Moldova, Belarus, Azerbaijan and Georgia 
have begun to benefit from EU neighborhood investments in transport and port infra-
structure, particularly under the Eastern Partnership Transport Panel, established in 
2011.
14
 It is worth noting that the imposition of national borders can increase delays 
and hence worsen infrastructure: Djankov and Freund (
2002b
), found that between 
1989 and 1996, train speeds increased by an average of 2% between Russian regions, 
12
Source: Eurasian Development Bank (
2009
)
13
According to EDB, the main trade channels of Central Asia and Russia include the Trans-Asian-Rail-
way (Uzbekistan–Kyrgyzstan–Tajikistan–Kazakhstan–Russia–Ukraine); the Trans-Siberian Rail channel 
(Russia–Mongolia–China); the East-Trans-Asian-Railway (Uzbekistan–Tajikistan–Kyrgyzstan–Kazakh-
stan–China).
14
https ://ec.europ a.eu/trans port/theme s/inter natio nal/europ ean_neigh bourh ood_polic y/easte rn_partn 
ershi p/trans port-panel _et
.
Economic Change and Restructuring (2021) 54:877–918
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but slowed by an average of 5–6% between Russian regions and other former Soviet 
republics.