Is Russia in Asia or the European continent: Russia gained independence with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 and expanded its territory in Asia due to imperial conquests whose historical heartland lies in Europe.
Russia is a transcontinental nation that stretches over eastern Europe and northern Asia. However, it is placed in the European continent following the United Nations classification. While much of its territory lies in Asia, most of its people reside in Europe.
Why is Russia a part of Europe and Asia?
Geographically, Russia is divided into two parts-- European Russia and its Asian part. It shares land borders with sixteen nations, the most of any country in the world.
To its northwest are Norway and Finland; Estonia, Latvia, Belarus, Ukraine, Lithuania and Poland (with Kaliningrad Oblast) to the west; Georgia and Azerbaijan to the southwest; Kazakhstan and Mongolia to the south; China and North Korea to the southeast. It also shares borders with the two partially recognized breakaway states of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. It shares maritime boundaries with Japan and the United States.
Interestingly, Yekaterinburg and Chelyabinsk, lie roughly on the Europe-Asia border in the Ural Mountains while Novosibirsk, Omsk, and Samara lie in Asian territory.
Who are the inhabitants of Russia?
As already discussed, much of Russia's territory lies in Asia and most of its people reside in Europe. People from diverse cultural and traditional backgrounds reside in the world's largest country.
Around 77% of the people of the country reside in the territory that is part of Europe, including the capital city Moscow. The city is the second most populous in Europe after Istanbul. By ethnicity, over three-quarters of its population is Russian and Christianity is the largest religion in the country.
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Russia: A land of firsts
The largest country in the world in terms of area is a land of firsts. Russia spans over 17,125,191 square kilometres and extends to eleven time zones. It houses the world's deepest lake, Baikal; Europe’s longest river and largest lake, the Volga and Ladoga respectively. Outside the North and South Poles, it is the only country in the world to have recorded the lowest temperature. It is also home to 30 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Interesting Facts
- Helicopter: The first mass-produced helicopter was designed in 1942 by Kyiv-born Igor Sikorsky.
- Tetris: Originating from the mind of a Moscow-born computer programmer, Alexey Pajitnov, Tetris emerged as an electrifying invention that swept the world via Nintendo's Game Boy platform.
- Periodic Table: It was this visionary Russian chemist and inventor, Mendeleev who crafted an innovative version, enabling him not only to rectify the properties of already-known elements but also to prophesy the emergence of hitherto undiscovered ones.
- Synthetic Rubber: The inception of the first commercially viable iteration of synthetic rubber can be attributed to the pioneering efforts of Russian chemist Sergei Lebedev during the early 20th century.