Logistics of Russia’s Foreign Trade and Economic Sanctions: Marking First Anniversary

Abstract

This article follows the research track of the authors devoted to the transport dimension of the existing sanctions regime of the West imposed on Russia. It neatly investigates the current state of affairs on each mode of transport sustaining Russia’s foreign trade throughout the year. Thus, the related situation on auto mode has seen a drastic deterioration, on air – has remains difficult, on rail – has seen a change in geography, on sea – has experienced a bounce back in all the basins. For instance, in the second quarter of 2023 the average number of linear port-calls has increased with foreign majors being replaced by regional operators, i.e. from Turkey, China, UAE as well as of Russian origin. However, due to smaller tonnage of the arriving fleet this process has resulted in lower efficiency of ports and greater cost of shipments. Overall, the authors conclude that logistics of Russia’s foreign trade has to some extent adapted to the existing sanctions regime.