Continuing the discussion on the sociological aspects of Russia's participation in the creation of the trans-Eurasian high-speed transport corridor, the author suggests considering the world-system analysis as the main element of the "sociology of space". We are talking about the identification of three groups of countries – the core, the semi-periphery and the periphery – according to the criterion of their participation in the formation of international "rules of the game". From this point of view, the "New Silk Road" is an element of global domination by new leaders (semi-peripheral BRICS countries) the old ones (first of all, the USA). Empirical data from surveys of Russians organized in the 2000s-2020s. According to the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the focus of the Russian political leadership on increasing its international role is based on the public consciousness of Russians, more than 80% of whom want their country to become at least one of the most economically developed and politically influential. Opinion polls also show that, despite the confrontation with the West in recent years, Russians still have a high level (slightly less than half of citizens) of awareness of Russia as a European country, which can become an important element of approving the "big project" of a transport corridor connecting China and the EU. At the same time, the high prevalence of Russian nationalism (the idea of Russia as a "common home" is shared by only about half of Russians) may become a factor complicating the implementation of this important international project.