The accelerating development of the North–South International Transport Corridor (NSTC) has become a focal point in Russia’s new economic doctrine, reflecting Moscow’s long-term pivot toward alternative trade partners and non-Western transport routes. More than an infrastructure plan, the NSTC is emerging as a geopolitical response to sanctions pressure, an attempt to reshape Russia’s connectivity with the Middle East, South Asia, the Caspian region, and the Indian Ocean basin.

At the VTB “Russia Calls!” investment forum, Russian officials underscored that over 100 individual projects are now underway, ranging from the modernization of the Makhachkala port to deepening the Volga–Caspian Canal, expanding the Astrakhan special economic zone, and establishing new ferry and container connections with Iranian ports. Russia also highlighted emerging cooperation with Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, two countries crucial to the corridor’s Caspian segment.

For Azerbaijan and the wider Caspian basin, this shift is not merely about transit logistics; it is about positioning at the intersection of........

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