• Main international airport: Sheremetyevo, Moscow (11.5m passengers)
• Merchant fleet, total tonnage: 4950 ships (10.4m grt)

The transportation network

• Extent of inland waterways navigable by commercial craft: 95,900 km (59,589 miles)
• Extent of national paved road network: 351,976 km (218,707 miles)
• Extent of motorways, freeways or major national highways: () (Not available)
• Extent of commercial rail network: 85,542 km (53,153 miles)

Russia has a comprehensive transportation network, though since 1991 all systems have seen some decline due to lack of funding. Cities are still served by good trolley and bus systems and Moscow has one of the most impressive subway systems in the world. In rural areas, car ownership is low and the population relies on an extensive bus service.

About 20% of the railroad track should be renewed annually owing to frost and other damage. Shortage of funds means this is no longer done. The railroads are heavily used but seriously overburdened and liable to accidents and delays. New track has been laid for the Sokol (Falcon) high-speed rail link between Moscow and St. Petersburg; the first trains to use it in 2000 cut over an hour off the previous minimum journey time and further dramatic reductions are expected.

Roads in major cities are deteriorating, as are interurban highways. Crime is a problem on railroads – notably the Trans-Siberian – and roads.

The former Aeroflot monopoly of air transportation has been broken up. Aeroflot now competes as Aeroflot Russian Airlines, but hundreds of regional "babyflot" airlines run mainly domestic routes, some with alarming accident records.

The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the US laid the foundations for a massive change in Russia's relations with the US and the wider international community. President Putin pledged immediate support to the US-led "war on terrorism," securing in return backing for the Chechnya campaign which was recast as a legitimate battle against "terrorism." Russia and NATO also appeared to bury their grievances; in 2002 a new NATO–Russia Council was established. Russia is uneasy, however, over the growth of US influence in central Asia and the Caucasus, particularly in the form of military bases. A key point of contention is US activity in Georgia where a new pro-Western administration has demanded the removal of Russian troops from Georgian bases and volubly protested Russia's involvement in the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Many of the other successor states of the USSR, the "near abroad," retain close links with Russia and are still viewed, at least domestically, as Russia's sphere of influence. A "joint economic space" comprising Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine was announced in 2003. Belarus has pushed for full reunification, but plans for monetary and political union have stalled in recent years. Relations with the Baltic states are the least cordial, but are improving after tension over discrimination against ethnic Russians there. Special transit passes for the people of Kaliningrad came into force when the EU expanded up to Russia's border in 2004.