Putin drives a new Russian Lada sedan on just opened final segment of Moscow-St Petersburg highway

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday drove a new Lada car on the recently completed Tver Northern Bypass on the M11-Neva highway, which links Moscow and St Petersburg.

Putin took the wheel of the Lada Aura sedan, a new model of the Russian automaker Avtovaz, of which mass production is due to start this fall amidst sanctions that significantly reduced the import of western branded cars into the country.

Putin drove to the opening ceremony venue for the the bypass and praised constructors who finished the project one year earlier than planned.

"I'd also note that the specialists of (Ros)avtodor got actively involved in the restoration of transport infrastructure of Donbas, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. I have no doubts that you will cope with all the tasks in these regions and across Russia perfectly," he said.

He added that travel time between Moscow and St. Petersburg would now be one hour shorter due to the bypass.

The new bypass has become the last segment of the toll road connecting Moscow and St Petersburg.

A trip by a passenger car from Moscow to St Petersburg costs approximately 40 US dollars, the cheapest train ticket for the same route costs around 20 US dollars.

The shortest route between Moscow and St-Petersburg is 437.52 mi (704.13 km)