Strange thing about the Russian & railroads in other ex-Soviet Union “Commonwealth of Independent States” countries is that while their axle load might be less than those in North America, their loading gauge is wider than the AAR – Plate F, used here in the US.
CIS countries also use the Russian Broad Gauge (5’) as opposed to the Standard track gauge (4’8.5”).
These are just my opinion,
Thanks,
Naveen Rajan