Driven by an increased interest in enhancing connectivity, great powers are in the competition to implement their transportation projects. Meanwhile, small states located in the crossroad of the transportation routes are offered with benefits while facing several challenges. In this regard, the current article studies three major transportation initiatives in the South Caucasus region from both political and economic perspectives. The article will try to analyze how these might challenge the regional hegemony of Russia. Hereinafter, by looking at the case of Azerbaijan, the role of small states throughout this process is identified.

中文翻译：

---

俄罗斯邻国交通路线争夺战：小国有立足之地吗？

由于对加强连通性的兴趣日益浓厚，大国正在竞争实施其交通项目。与此同时，位于交通路线十字路口的小国在面临诸多挑战的同时也获得了好处。在这方面，本文从政治和经济角度研究了南高加索地区的三大交通倡议。本文将尝试分析这些可能如何挑战俄罗斯的地区霸权。在下文中，通过查看阿塞拜疆的案例，可以确定小国在整个过程中的作用。