In May 2010, the Putin government announced the "Socio-economic Strategy for Siberia until 2020." For a long time, the Siberian region was used exclusively for developing and producing resources. The Russian government said it will now focus on improving the quality of life and improving Siberia''s residential environment and business areas. At the start of the 21st century, the Russian government shifted its European and Western-oriented national strategy to the Asia-Pacific region. It also began a strategic approach towards the balanced development of Russia''s Asian region, especially Siberia, and emphasized Siberia''s importance in the international community. The Russian government''s movement was influenced by shift in the global economy’s center of gravity from Europe to the Asia-Pacific region. This strategy aims to secure a safe supply chain of Siberian resources and utilize Siberia as a land bridge for the Eurasian continent. However, Siberia''s poor inland transportation and logistics system pose an urgent problem that the Russian government must first solve in order to develop Siberia into a logistics hub in the Eurasian region. In the northern part of Siberia, natural resource development is taking place on a large scale, and the transport of raw materials and resources continues to increase. However, poor climatic conditions, permafrost, and low population density put many limitations on the development of local logistics infrastructure. In particular, since both the railway and the North Pole routes, which are significant logistics corridors in the region, connect only the east-west direction, a transport route connecting the region''s north-south direction is necessary for Siberia to have a complete logistics system. Russia has begun to actively promote the development of inland water transport as a national strategic project. Many experts are emphasizing the need to utilize inland water transport in Siberia. Therefore, this study seeks first to analyze the Russian government''s development policy in Siberia, the current state of utilization of inland water transport, and the formation and growth process of the regional transport logistics system. Next, the role and utilization plan of inland water transport for the development of the transportation and logistics system in the Siberia region is presented. Looking at Stalin''s reign, the Siberian region''s development policy reflected socialism in one country and its industrialization policy. At that time, Siberia was used as an internal colony, and the government developed Siberian resources under a planned economy. Goods and resources for the construction of local industrial facilities and infrastructure were moved by inland water transport. Inland water transport infrastructure development and reorganization of related organizations were also carried out. As a result, the cargo volume of inland water transport was the highest after Stalin''s reign until the dissolution of the Soviet Union. However, in the process of dismantling the Soviet Union, the Siberian shipping industry also stagnated along with the national economic crisis, and infrastructure that had been cut off from state support and investment for a long time declined further. The Russian government began to pay attention again to the Siberian inland water transport industry after 2010, when the Arctic routes increased. Siberia''s potential as a Eurasian land bridge began to rise. With Putin''s New Eastern policy, the development of the Siberian region began to take place at the national strategic level. The Russian government is now developing Siberia to become a logistics hub in the Eurasian region.
The Gini coefficient was used to analyze the logistics industry''s concentration and cargo volume by region and investigate the causes of any increase or decrease in cargo volume by region. Based on this data, a growth model of the regional transportation and logistics system was created. Six stages of development of the transport and logistics system in the Siberian region, where railroads and maritime ports are connected with inland water transport at the center, were defined as follows. ① Initial use of inland water transport - ② Construction of railroads and linkage with inland ports - ③ Development of maritime ports - ④ Development of maritime ports and inland transportation logistics - ⑤ stagnation of inland water transportation - ⑥ Selective development of inland ports and marine ports. The expansion period of the inland port was added as the 7th expected stage. The expected stage is based on the Russian government''s inland water transport development strategy, the current state of resource development in northern Siberia, and the Arctic port development strategy. Inland water transport in Siberia''s transport logistics system is designed to develop the regional logistics system into an international transport corridor through the linkage between routes and inland. Siberia, which already has railroads and sea routes connecting the east-west directions, needs a link in the north-south direction that can connect railroads and sea routes for it to have a complete logistics network. Siberian inland water transport works as a link. If railroads, inland water transport, and sea routes are correctly connected, the Siberian logistics route can be reborn as an international transport corridor in the Eurasian region. In the past Stalin period, inland water transport was responsible for transporting cargo within Siberia. But now, Siberian inland water transport must play a role in facilitating access to the Arctic Ocean, connecting European and Asian countries, and turning the regional logistics system into an international logistics transport corridor. Thus, Siberian inland water transport must develop into an international logistics corridor for the Siberian regional transport logistics system.