Russia and the United States should build a “Putin-Trump” rail tunnel under the Bering Strait to link their countries, unlock joint exploration of natural resources and “symbolize unity,” a Kremlin envoy suggested.
The proposal from Kirill Dmitriev, President Vladimir Putin’s investment envoy and head of Russia’s RDIF sovereign wealth fund, envisages an $8 billion construction project, financed by Moscow and “international partners”, to build a 112km rail and freight link in less than eight years.
Dmitriev, who helped lead a Russian diplomatic offensive aimed at reviving U.S.-Russian ties, floated the idea Thursday night following a phone conversation between Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump. He agreed to meet in Budapest to seek a way to stop the war in Ukraine.
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“The dream of a link between the US and Russia across the Bering Strait reflects an enduring vision — from the 1904 Siberia-Alaska railway to the 2007 Russian plan. The RDIF has studied existing proposals, including the US-Canada-Russia-China railway, and will support the most viable one,” Dmitriev wrote in X.
At 82 km wide at its widest point, the Bering Strait separates the vast and sparsely populated Russian region of Chukotka from Alaska. Ideas of connection between regions have existed for at least 150 years. The small Diomede Islands, one Russian and one belonging to the USA, are in the middle of the strait, separated by just 4 km.
Dmitriev, who has established a relationship with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and suggested that major US energy companies could join Russian projects in the Arctic, proposed that the tunnel be built by The Boring Company, a US tunneling company owned by billionaire Elon Musk.
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“Imagine connecting the US and Russia, the Americas and Afro-Eurasia with the Putin-Trump tunnel — a 70-mile link that symbolizes unity. Traditional costs are over $65 billion, but @boringcompany’s technology could reduce them to <$8B. Let's build a future together," Dmitriev said on X to Musk.
There was no immediate public response from Musk or Trump.
In addition to the tunnel itself, building and upgrading infrastructure on both sides of the strait would cost a huge amount. Existing roads and railways in Chukotka are sparse at best.
Dmitriev recalled that a plan for a “Kennedy-Khrushchev World Peace Bridge” across the strait was put forward during the Cold War. He posted a contemporary sketch of the route it might have taken, and a graphic showing the possible route of the new tunnel.
“RDIF has already invested and built the first Russia-China railway bridge. The time has come to do more and connect the continents for the first time in human history. The time has come to connect Russia and the US,” Dmitriev said.
