Russian federal highways explained

Russian federal highways (Russian: автомобильные дороги федерального значения Российской Федерации|r=avtomobil’nyye dorogi federal’nogo znacheniya Rossiyskoy Federatsii; lit. highways of federal importance of the Russian Federation) are the most important highways in Russia that are federal property. The following motorways are designated as federal.[1] [2]

The federal highways are classified in Russia into two categories:

Roads of regional and intermunicipal importance

The local importance roads in Russia are designated with a letter prefix and a number as well as the OKATO (Общероссийский классификатор объектов административно-территориального деления, Russian classification on objects of administrative division) code for the region.

These roads use the following prefixes:

Federal highways

HighwayRouteLengthNotes
Moscow to the border with Belarus440km (270miles)
Moscow - Tula - Orel - Kursk - Belgorod to the border with Ukraine720km (450miles)
Moscow - Kaluga - Bryansk to the border with Ukraine490km (300miles)
Moscow - Voronezh - Rostov-on-Don - Krasnodar - Novorossiysk1513km (940miles)One of three fully-fledged nationwide motorways in Russia alongside M11 and M12 (all three are toll roads)
Moscow - Ryazan’ - Penza - Samara - Ufa - Chelyabinsk1819km (1,130miles)
Moscow - Vladimir - Nizhny Novgorod - Kazan1342km (834miles)Originally continued to Ufa; this is planned to become portions of M12, R240 and R243
Moscow - Yaroslavl - Vologda - Arkangelsk1271km (790miles)
Moscow - Volokolamsk to the border with Latvia610km (380miles)
Moscow - Tver’ - Velikiy Novgorod - Saint Petersburg872km (542miles)Originally continued to Finnish border, but this was redesignated A181 in 2018
Moscow – Saint Petersburg684km (425miles)One of three fully-fledged nationwide motorways in Russia alongside M4 and M12 (all three are toll roads)
Moscow - Nizhny Novgorod - Kazan - Yekaterinburg - Tyumen811km (504miles) (currently in operation), ~1600km (1,000miles) (proposed)As of 2024, the 811km (504miles) stretch of M12 between Moscow and Kazan has been completed and put to operation; the rest of the motorway is under construction
Saint Petersburg - Petrozavodsk - Murmansk - Pechenga to the border with Norway2038km (1,266miles)Former M18
Tambov - Volgograd - Astrakhan1779km (1,105miles)Former M6
Saint Petersburg - Pskov - Pustoshka - Nevel to the border with Belarus544km (338miles)Former M20
Veliky Novgorod - Soltsy - Porkhov - Pskov223km (139miles)Former A116
Kaluga - Peremyshl’ - Belev - Orel181km (112miles)
Orel - Livny - Elets - Lipetsk - Tambov390km (240miles)
Orel - Bryansk - Smolensk to the border with Belarus510km (320miles)Former A141
Yaroslavl - Kostroma - Ivanovo - Vladimir - Gus-Khrustalny - Ryazan - Mikhailov - Tula - Kaluga - Vyazma - Rzhev - Tver - Uglich - Yaroslavl15580NaN0Bypass for M3; Russia's longest ring road
R150Belgorod - Starobelsk - Luhansk – Donetsk – MariupolRuns through occupied Ukraine
Nizhny Novgorod - Saransk - Issa - Penza - Saratov
Cheboksary - Yoshkar-Ola - Kirov - SyktyvkarFormer A119
R177Nizhny Novgorod - Yoshkar-Ola
R178Saransk - Surskoye - Ulyanovsk to route M5 "Ural"Continues to Samara as 73R-178 and 36P-170
R193Voronezh - Tambov
R207Penza - Balashov - Mikhailovka to route R260
R208Tambov - Penza
Astrakhan - Kochubey - Kizlyar - Makhachkala
R216Astrakhan - Elista - Stavropol Former A154
Route M4 "Don" - Vladikavkaz - Grozny - Makhachkala to the border with AzerbaijanFormer M29
R228Syzran - Saratov - Volgograd
R229Samara - Pugachev - Engels - Volgograd
Kazan - Orenburg - Akbulak to the border with Kazakhstan
R240Ufa - Orenburg
R241Kazan - Buinsk - Ulyanovsk
R243Kostroma - Sharya - Kirov - Perm
Chelyabinsk - Kurgan - Omsk - Novosibirsk Former M51
Novosibirsk - Kemerovo - Krasnoyarsk - IrkutskFormer M53
Novosibirsk - Barnaul - Gorno-Altaysk to the border with MongoliaFormer M52
Krasnoyarsk - Abakan - Kyzyl - Chadan - Khandagayty to the border with MongoliaFormer M54
Irkutsk - Ulan-Ude - ChitaFormer M55
R260Volgograd - Kamensk-Shakhtinsky - LuhanskFormer M21 and A260; runs through occupied Ukraine
R280Rostov-on-Don - Mariupol - Melitopol - SimferopolRuns through occupied Ukraine
Chita - Never - Svobodnyy - Arkhara - Birobidzhan - KhabarovskFormer M58
Kursk - Voronezh to route R22Former A144
Yekaterinburg - Shadrinsk - Kurgan
Tyumen - Yalutorovsk - Ishim - Omsk
Tyumen - Tobol’sk - Khanty-Mansiysk
Yakutsk - MagadanFormer M56 "Kolyma"
Moscow - Shchëlkovo to route A107
Moscow - Dmitrov - Dubna
access road from Domodedovo AirportFormer portion of route M4
Moscow-ZvenigorodFormer A105
Iksha - Noginsk - Bronnitsy - Golitsyno - Istra - Iksha
Dmitrov - Sergiev Posad - Orekhovo-Zuevo – Voskresensk - Mikhnevo - Balabanovo - Ruza - Klin - Dmitrov
Krasnogorsk - Petrovo-Dalnee; connection to route A106 and entrance to state dacha No. 7 (in Petrovo-Dalnee)
access road from highway A108 to the "Semonovskoye" facility
access road from route M10 to the state complex "Zavidovo"
Chepelëvo - Velyaminovo
Circular roadway in Moscow Oblast and Moscow
Vologda - Tikhvin to highway R21
Beltway around Saint Petersburg
Vologda - Medvezhyegorsk to highway R21Former R5
Kirovsk - Mga - Gatchina - Bol’shaya Izhora
Saint Petersburg - Sortavala to route R21Former A129
Route A114 – Ustyuzhna - Kresttsy - Yazhelbitsy - Velikiye Luki - NevelOne portion former M10
Chekshino - Totma - Kotlas - Kuratovo
Moscow - Maloyaroslavets - Roslavl to the border with Belarus Former A101
access road from highway M1 to Smolensk
access road from highway M4 to Lipetsk
access road from route M4 to Voronezh
access road from route M4 to Rostov-on-Don
access road from route M4 to Krasnodar
A137Route R21 - Tiksha - Ledmozero - Kostomuksha to the border with Finland
Trosna - Kalinovka
Krasnodar - Verkhnebakansky
Dzhubga - Sochi to the border with AbkhaziaFormer M27
Route A147 to the Sochi bypass
Adler - Krasnaya PolyanaFormer A148
Tsivilsk - Ulyanovsk
Urvan - Verkhnyaya Balkariya - UshtuluFormer R291
Cherkessk - Dombay to the border with Abkhazia
Access roads from A155 to international holiday resort "Arkhyz" and the specialized Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences Former portion of A155
Mineralnye Vody Airport - Kislovodsk
Prokhladnyy - Baksan - ElbrusOne section former R289
access road from Maikop to the Caucasian State Biosphere ReserveFormer R254
Maikop - Bzhedugkhabl - Adygeysk - Ust-Labinsk - KorenovskFormer R253
Vladikavkaz - Nizhniy Lars to the border with GeorgiaFormer R301
Vladikavkaz - AlagirFormer R297
access road from highway R217 to Vladikavkaz Airport
Kardzhin - Alagir - Nizhniy Zaramag to the border with South OssetiaFormer R297 and R298
Lermontov - CherkesskFormer A156
Kochubey - Neftekumsk - Zelenokumsk - Mineralnye VodyFormer R263 and R285
Saint Petersburg to the border with EstoniaFormer M11
Saint Petersburg - Vyborg to the border with FinlandFormer portion of M10
Pskov - Izborsk to the border with Estonia
A215Lodeynoe Pole - Vytegra - Prokshino - Plesetsk - Brin-NavolokFormer R37
Gvardeisk - Neman to the border with Lithuania
A217Kaliningrad - Svetlogorsk
Kaliningrad - Chernyakhovsk - Nesterov to the border with Lithuania
Bryansk - Novozybkov to the border with BelarusFormer M13
A258Highway M4 - Kantermirovka - Luhansk
Route M4 - Novoshakhtinsk to the border with LPR/UkraineFormer M19
A289Krasnodar - Slavyansk-on-Kuban - Temryuk to route A290Former 03K-579
Novorossiysk - Kerch, entrances to Port Kavkaz and Anapa AirportFormer M25; runs through occupied Ukraine
Kerch - Simferopol - SevastopolFormer 35P-001, 35P-003 and 35N-113; runs through occupied Ukraine
Yoshkar-Ola - Zelenodolsk to route M7 Former R175
Route R208 - Saratov - Pristannoe - Ershov - Ozinki to the border with Kazakhstan
Samara - Bolshaya Chernigovka to the border with KazakhstanFormer M32
Orenburg - Ilek to the border with KazakhstanFormer R335
Chelyabinsk - Troitsk to the border with KazakhstanFormer M36
Omsk - Cherlak to the border with KazakhstanFormer M38
A321Barnaul - Pavlovsk to the border with Kazakhstan
Barnaul - Rubtsovsk to the border with KazakhstanFormer A349
Tulun - Bratsk - Ust’-Kut - Mirnyy - YakutskFormer R419
Kultuk - Mondy to the border with MongoliaFormer A164
Ulan-Ude - Kyakhta to the border with MongoliaFormer A165
Chita - Zabaykalsk to the border with ChinaFormer A166
Never - YakutskFormer M56 "Lena"
Route A360 to the border with China
Khabarovsk - Vladivostok Former M60
A371Vladivostok - Ostrov
Khabarovsk - Krasnyy Yar - Ariadnoe - Chuguevka - Nakhodka
A376Khabarovsk - Lidoga - Vanino - Komsomolsk-on-Amur Former 08A-1
access road from Anadyr to Anadyr Airport (Ugolny)
Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk - Korsakov Former R488
Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk - KholmskFormer R495
A393Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk - OkhaFormer R495
access road from the Port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy to Elisovo Airport

Former routes

Regional routes

Cyrillic Р is used on signs.

Nizhny Novgorod, Arzamas-Saransk

Access roads to ports, airports and railroad stations from cities Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Anadyr, Dudinka, Naryan-Mar, Salekhard, Khanty-Mansiysk and from the urban-type settlements of Palana and Tura.

Recent additions

Notes and References

  1. http://www.rg.ru/2007/04/11/dorogi-dok.html A February 7, 2007 order of the Russian Ministry of Transportation about highway ID numbers
  2. http://www.consultant.ru/online/base/?req=doc;base=LAW;n=70955;ref=s A Russian decree of December 24 1991 about the list of federal highways
  3. Web site: Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 8, 2008 N 920 Moscow "On Amending the Decree of the Government of the RSFSR of December 24, 1991 N 62". Rossiyskaya Gazeta. 24 December 2008.