Следует сказать, что от многих других больших дорог motorway отличается, главным образом, наличием hard shoulder - асфальтированной обочины, по которой движение, вообще говоря, запрещено, и полным отсутствием пересечений в одном уровне. - https://gogirl.co.uk/news-and-advice/dual-carriageway-motorway-difference/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway In North American and Australian English, major roads such as controlled-access highways or arterial roads are often state highways (Canada: provincial highways). Other roads may be designated "county highways" in the US and Ontario. These classifications refer to the level of government (state, provincial, county) that maintains the roadway. In British English, "highway" is primarily a legal term. Everyday use normally implies roads, while the legal use covers any route or path with a public right of access, including footpaths etc.
I can't pretend to know what the Russian term means, having seen it here for the first time, but if it implies a principle thoroughfare for transportation and conveyance, then I have to agree with HIGHWAY and MAIN TRANSPORT ROUTE. These are in contrast to roads, streets, avenues, etc., which are considered lesser byways. You can add to this a TURNPIKE, which is a main highway that has toll booths that charge drivers money at certain intervals. Additionally, highways are distinguished from other thoroughfares by the fact that they have their own law enforcement - the highway patrol (as opposed to inner-city police), as well as their own traffic laws.