Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
He proposed that an Elon Musk company should build it.
A Kremlin investment envoy has proposed linking Russia and the United States via a 70-mile tunnel under the Bering Strait — a plan he says would “symbolize unity” between the two nations.
Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund RDIF, outlined the proposal in a post on X (see below). The article continues below the post.
In his message, Dmitriev said the $8 billion “Putin–Trump Tunnel” could be built within eight years and led by Elon Musk’s Boring Company. Reuters first reported the comments on Friday.
Dmitriev presented the proposal after a recent phone call between Putin and Donald Trump, during which the two agreed to meet in Budapest to discuss potential steps toward ending the war in Ukraine. He called the tunnel a “symbol of unity” and an opportunity to unlock new avenues for trade and resource exploration.
Elon Musk company tapped for construction
Dmitriev suggested that Elon Musk’s The Boring Company could lead construction, leveraging its advanced tunneling technology to keep costs far below traditional estimates. “Imagine connecting the U.S. and Russia — the Americas and Afro-Eurasia — with a 70-mile (112 kilometer) link symbolizing unity,” he wrote on X, adding that Musk’s methods could reduce total expenses from $65 billion to under $8 billion.
Neither Musk nor Trump has responded publicly to the proposal. Still, Dmitriev’s outreach aligns with Moscow’s broader strategy of courting U.S. business leaders to foster cooperation in infrastructure and Arctic energy development.
The Bering Strait, just 51 miles (82 km) wide at its narrowest point, has long sparked dreams of a transcontinental link. The two small Diomede Islands, one Russian and one American, sit less than 2.5 miles apart, making the location an enduring symbol of both division and potential unity.
A century-old dream
Dmitriev noted that the concept of bridging the Bering Strait dates back more than a century.
He referenced earlier plans, including a 1904 Siberia–Alaska railway proposal and a Cold War-era “Kennedy–Khrushchev World Peace Bridge.”
“RDIF has already built the first-ever Russia–China railroad bridge,” Dmitriev said. “The time has come to connect the continents — to connect Russia and the U.S.”
This article is made and published by Jens Asbjørn Bogen, which may have used AI in the preparation
