Is Russia part of Europe?

Question

Please help end an argument within our house. Is Russia any part of Europe, or is all classed as Asia?

Answer 1

European with recently acquired territory in Asia.

Europe geographically goes from Portugal all the way until the Ural mountains. Beyond it, Asia starts. Russia used to be the last European country after which Asia began.

However, in the 17th-19th centuries Russians started their "manifest destiny", that is, they conquered Siberia- a huge, sparsely populated landmass in Northern Asia and then they settled it by moving there in not big, but still significant numbers. Then, they reached the Pacific sometime in the middle of thr 19th century and built cities there- Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, etc.

Russia itself, meaning its main cities, such as Moscow, St. Petersburg and most of its population are in the European part. Siberia still has relatively few people.

Because Russia owns Siberia which is enormous- about the size of the US and it is now their land, when people write "Russian Federation" on the map, it gets written over the Asian part if it is to be in the center of the country. This creates a somewhat false impression that the country is Asian such as China and Japan.

The European part of Russia ( the non-Siberian part that is) is the Russia proper.

Russian people in their majority ( 80%+) are of Slavic stock, same as Serbia, Macedonia, Ukraine, and well, Poland. There are also Asian minorities similar to Aleuts and Turkic peoples of all kinds and these live in Asian areas.

So, it is a European country with a big Asian land possession.

The European part may look small on the map, but it is as large as all of Western Europe.

During the Russian colonial overtures in Europe- before and after communism, people living in Central Europe opposed it and tried to show Europe as anything until the border with Poland. They would talk about Russia vs. Europe and some even tried to put Russia into Asia as a propaganda trick. However, this will not change the fact that Asia begins after the Urals and only Siberia is in Asia.

Russia does not participate in Asian summits, Asian games, Asian meetings and is not a member of Asian communities of any kind.

English language media often tries to show Russia as a separate unit, not part of Europe or Asia, the same as they try to show the Middle East as a separate "continent". They talk about someone repporting now from Asia and now from the Middle East. As if the Middle East was not Asia.

However, this is not a traditional and correct geographical designation.

Answer 2

As far as I was led to believe Russia was always part of Asia. Thats why Asia was the largest Continent. But Russian Football teams Play in Europe. The highest mountain in Europe is Mount Elebrus (unsure of the spelling) thats in Russia.

Answer 3

I would class it as a part of Asia, as most of Russia lies in the east.

Answer 4

Russia is geographically in asia but has been a european power since Peter the Great.
Since europe and asia are actually part of the same continent, eurasia the distinction is artificial anyway.

Answer 5

just a little part of russia part of europe.%90 asia

Answer 6

No, Russia is in Europe but when the USSR existed some of the eastern states (not Russia) were in Asia.

Answer 7

Yes, part of russia is in europe but European Russia is the mass of Russian land west of the Ural Mountains.

It is not a separate country, but rather called European Russia because of its political and cultural blending with European countries and peoples.

St. Petersburg and Moscow, (the capital) are located in European Russia. Regardless, the entire country is (geographically) still considered a part of Asia.
European Russia refer to the western areas of Russia that lie within Europe. Traditionally the border of Europe is the Ural mountains, but this definition of the geography of Europe is a subject of debate.

Most of Russia's territory is in Asia, although the majority of population lives in western Russia. These areas include Moscow and St. Petersburg, the two most well-known cities of Russia. In the time of the Russian Empire, the term "European Russia" was used in the Empire to refer to traditional East Slavic territories under Russian control, including modern Belarus and most of Ukraine (Dnieper Ukraine).

Answer 8

The western 1/4 (or so) of the country is in Europe. The boundary between the two is defined by the Ural mountain range. The rest is in Asia

Answer 9

Asia

Answer 10

The part of Russia west of the Ural Mountains (the part with most of the population, Moscow, St. Petersburg, etc) is European. The part east of the Urals - Siberia - (Irkutsk, Vladivostok) is Asia.