Bezrukov L.A.V.B. Sochava Institute of Geography SB RAS, Irkutsk, Russia

In recent years, desire for broad Eurasian integration has intensified, and that is manifested in the expansion of the circle of participants of the two large associations -Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

The term «Greater Eurasia» has emerged, and that indicates the forming geo-economic community with the participation of Russia, China, India. Pakistan, Iran, countries of Central Asia, and other interested contries of the continent. Considering the observer countries of SCO, the Greater Eurasia is the largest part of the continent with 14 countries.

The adjacent territories of most of the countries of Greater Eurasia share such a common feature as the ultra-continental geographical position in the remote parts of Eurasian continent at a great distance from economical sea routes (over 1 thousand km from the sea). Moreover, 9 of the 14 countries of Greater Eurasia do not have a direct access to the World Ocean. By the size of the territories, remote from the sea routes, Greater Eurasia has no analogues in the world. The factor of continentality and huge landBstances, that determines the increased level of transportation costs, has, as a rule, an unfavorable impact on the economy and makes it difficult to participate in international trade.

Creation of international transport corridors should be considered as a potentially powerful means of closer economic consolidation and development of the adjacent remote territories of Greater Eurasia. The construction of a global transport infrastructure will pgely allow to overcome the growing influence of the continental factor as one of the main barriers to the development of the Eurasian countries.

The creation of Greater Eurasia can objectively become an important lever for the development of Siberia. Firstly, for Siberia, possibilities of using the principle of «continental neighborhoods” are expanding: if earlier this principle operated mainly at the domestic level, now it can be applied at a broader international level in terms of Greater Eurasia. Secondly, the strengthening of international cooperation creates prerequisites for deepening the processing of Siberian raw materials locally by organizing high and finals processing and obtaining transportable semi-finished products and finished prod-ucts with high added value. Thirdly, when creating an international transport corridor on the basis of the Transsib, it becomes possible to radically modernize it with the help of fundamentally new technical solutions.

Thus, economic and geographical meaning of the creation of Greater Eurasia is thi construction of long-term and sustainable continental Eurasian integration through the activation of international economic relations and the construction of transport corridors, thereby helping to overcome the transport and communication limits of the ultracontinental countries and regions. The higher the level of their development and closer their! ties, the less will be the need for these countries and regions to enter into a world ocean exchange that is unprofitable for them. Their future development is largely determined by the intensity of cooperation with each other, since this is the only way to most effectively reduce the negative impact of shortcomings in their geographical position.